


A Rose by Any Name

by PumpkinSoldier



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Are they fighting or flirting, Attempts of forced marriage, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Curses, Daemons, F/M, Fantasy, Fantasy Violence, Fluff, I tried anyway, Parent Cor Leonis, Slow Burn, bit of both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinSoldier/pseuds/PumpkinSoldier
Summary: Deep in the heart of a forest in Gralea, lays a castle riddled with daemons. It's rumoured that they overwhelmed the previous inhabitants, and destroyed everything and everyone in their path.But in reality, a wicked sorcerer had cursed the castle, turning everyone inside into daemons. A curse that could only be broken by True Love.If only the High Commadore believed in such a thing…---Ignis wants adventure.He wants to explore a life outside of the small town he's spent his entire life in, but with overprotective parents, it doesn't seem to be anytime soon.But when his father doesn't return from a hunting trip, Ignis leaves the only home he has ever known to look for him.He comes across the castle, and finds thanks father has been taken prisoner by the daemons.Ignis offers a trade : his life, for his father's.Ignis remains in the castle, where, over time he and the High Commadore, Aranea Highwind, learn that they aren't so different from one another after all.All the while, one Caligo Ulldor plots to take over the Scientia household, by attempting to marry Ignis and getting rid of the rest of his family once he has done so.
Relationships: Aranea Highwind/Ignis Scientia, Cor Leonis/Original Male Character(s), one sided caligo uldor/ignis scientia
Comments: 21
Kudos: 10
Collections: FFXV Rarepair Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Heres my entry for the rarepair big bang!  
> Thank you to my two other lovely mods who have fics in the collection too! 
> 
> Thank to you to my wonderful editor, Pixie! Or putting up with my crap!  
> And a massive thank you to my wonderful artist [Azkas](https://twitter.com/SirMot19/status/1327417522371526657?s=19) For the beautiful artwork linked into this fic!
> 
> Be sure to check out the rest of the fics too!

T he snow crunched beneath his feet as Ignis made his way through the village. He needed to head to the market; and the library as well, but the market was of more importance. 

Father had given him a list of all the things he needed to get, a list that was currently tucked between the pages of a book Ignis had ; It was one of his favourites. It was about a beautiful opera singer, who had been seduced by a disfigured musical genius that lived beneath the Opera House in the fictional city of Paris. 

"Hi Ignis!" He heard a voice call out. 

Ignis looked up from his book. A small blond boy eagerly waved at him from beside the well; He had an open book beside him, and smudges of pen ink on his face. 

Ignis smiled at him. "Hello Lex!" He called out; tucking his book away into his bag, Ignis made his way over. "You've ink on your face." 

"I was tryin' to do the math homework you gave me!" Lex said wiping at the marks, smudging them further. "Did I get it?" Lex showed his face, chin up towards Ignis with a bright smile. 

Ignis let out a soft chuckle. "Not quite. Allow me?" 

"Uh huh!" 

Ignis knelt down in front of Lex, and took out a water bottle from his bag, along with a handkerchief. Pouring some water onto the handkerchief Ignis gently wiped at the marks. "This should do the trick." 

"Thanks Ignis!" Lex said, giving him a wide gap-toothed grin. 

"No problem little one." Ignis replied. He tucked his handkerchief into a pocket and sat beside Lex. "Is there anything I can help you with?" 

"Uh huh! Couldja check the answers for me? 

I did them all by myself!" 

"What a genius you're turning out to be!" Ignis took the book from Lex, and peered over the open pages. 

He'd been tutoring Lex as of late. He was one of the young ones from the orphanage, one of the few that didn't listen to the adults. Lex would come up to Ignis almost every other day to sell him flowers.

Ignis bought as many as Lex would let him, and in return Ignis would offer to teach him. Ignis taught Lex to read and write, and now was guiding him as best he could through maths. 

"Wonderful Lex!" Ignis drew a green pen from his bag, ticking off all of Lex's answers and drew a smiley face under it. "You've done brilliantly. Would you like me to leave more?" 

"Yeah! Thanks!" 

Ignis ruffled Lex's hair, and wrote down more simple equations on the next few pages. 

" _ Alexander!"  _ A harsh voice called out. " _ Back inside! This instant!"  _

"Uh oh." Lex jumped down from the well, and took his book back from Ignis. "Bye Ignis. I'll see you tomorrow!" He whispered. "Thank you for my homework." 

"It's my pleasure Lex. I hope you don't get into too much trouble." Ignis waved to him, and watched as Lex ran over to Madame Claustra. 

A strict, elderly lady that ran the orphanage. She  _ did not  _ like Ignis. Not many people did. 

However they did love his fathers ; Horus was the mayor, and Cor was the head hunter, both in charge of ensuring everyone in the village was safe and well fed. 

Madame Claustra rapidly approached, Ignis scrambled to his feet attempting to make a getaway before she got to him, however Ignis wasn’t fast enough to escape. 

Madame Claustra grabbed onto his arm and spun him to face her (despite her being almost two heads shorter than himself) "You leave that boy alone. We don't need another stuck up like you." 

"You seem to have no issues with my father." 

"Your father is a good man. You on the other hand are an entitled brat. We don't need another one of you running around." She sneered. "If you weren't Horus's son I'd have you thrown out of the village by now. You should be more like Cor, sit quiet, sit pretty and don't stick your nose where it isn't wanted." 

Ignis felt his face flush in anger, he wrenched his arm away. Turning on his heel, Ignis took his leave from Madame Claustra, while she started to yell at him, hurtling insults at his retreating form. 

Ignis never really understood why people didn't like him. 

They said he was stuck up, that he was rude and unfriendly. 

He wasn't. 

He  _ wasn't _ . 

Ignis kept mostly to himself, spending most of his time either in the village library, or tutoring the little ones in the orphanage - of course that only extended the ones who paid no mind to the adults harsh insults- ones like Lex and a small handful of others. 

He tugged his coat further around his neck, and made his way to the market. 

"Good day Ignis!" Takka called out to him. "How are you lad?"

"Good day Takka." Ignis nodded his head in greeting, he reached into his bag to take out the list. "I'm faring as well as I can, how are you?" 

"Ah, you don't want to hear about me. I'm just a batty old man getting on in my old age." Takka held out his hand, gesturing for the list. "I assume your father sent you?" 

Ignis nodded and handed over the list. "I apologise for the long list." 

"Not at all. I'll be back to you in just a few minutes." 

Ignis stepped back from the stall and watched everyone bustle past him, browsing the market stalls, arguing over prices and produce. 

If he tried hard enough, he could imagine he was somewhere else. 

A spice market in a busy village in sweltering heat, carnival stalls in a beautiful city on the sea, anywhere else but here. 

The village was quiet. Far too quiet for Ignis's liking. The most exciting thing to happen was that a small pack of Coeurl had ventured into the village, Ignis had been playing near the outskirts, and had almost been attacked.

Dad had been furious. He had chased them off, and set up a 24/7 watch around the village, and from that day until Ignis had turned eighteen, refused to let Ignis out of his sight. 

Ignis was assigned one of the other hunters as a guard when Dad was off hunting, or Father was busy in the office. They'd stand back and let him study in peace, only bothering to talk to him to let him know of his parents' return home. 

Perhaps that was where the rumours had started from. 

Ignis was disrupted from his thoughts as someone purposely bumped into him. He scowled, and whirled round to make a snide remark at whoever it was."Can't you watch where you're -  _ oh.  _ Captain Uldor, my apologies." 

Captain Uldor was a short stout man; His beady eyes always unsettled Ignis. He tried his best to limit contact with the Captain; And wherever Captain Uldor went, his second in command, Loqi Tummelt, was sure to follow. Loqi was pretty, that was certain, but he was as vain as anything. 

"Nothing to apologise for Ignis." Captain Uldor said, smiling at him. "The fault was my own; What brings you to the market?" 

"Errands." Ignis answered. Hoping the short answer would deter from any further conservation. 

Captain Uldor gave him another unnerving smile, and stepped closer into Ignis's personal boundaries. "Would you like me to assist you?" 

"Oh, no thank you Captain Uldor, that won't be necessary. I'll be done shortly." Ignis glanced up to see Takka making his way back, with a paper bag in his arms. "In fact, I'm done here." He handed over a small pouch of Gil to Takka, and took his bag. "Good day to you Takka, and to you Captain Uldor." Ignis said with a short bow of his head before he hurried off toward the library, and wove his way through the tight crowd. 

"Ignis!" He heard Uldor call out. "Ignis wait-" 

Ignis briefly glanced behind him, to see Uldor attempting to follow. 

Ignis quickened his pace, almost slipping on a patch of ice as he dashed into the library. He hid behind one of the shelves as Uldor walked past. 

"You getting into trouble early today Ignis?" a small laugh sounded from behind him 

Ignis caught his breath, turning to see the library assistant grinning from behind the front desk. Silver-blond hair was tucked beneath a woolly hat, piercing green eyes stared back. 

Ignis found himself rather taken with the young man, making it a point to visit Mari when he could, and tried not to make a fool of himself when he did. 

"T-trouble?" Ignis stammered, he felt his face flush. "Me? Never. Good morning to you Mari." 

"And to you. What is it I can help you with today Ignis?" 

Ignis set down the paper bag, and reached into his own, pulling out the book he'd been reading earlier. "I came to return this." 

Mari smiled, and took the book from him. "Again? You've read this one three times already." 

"It's one of my favourites." Ignis said. "I think it's a beautiful story." 

"I'm not sure I agree. It's a little creepy if you ask me. Erik is an incredibly manipulative guy." 

"I can't argue with you there." Ignis admitted. "But it just seems so exciting - a hidden array of tunnels beneath an opera house." 

"I guess." Mari leant forward, head propped up in his hands. "Do you know what you're going to pick next?" 

Ignis walked along a bookshelf, running his hand along the spines. "That depends. Is there anything new?" 

"Not since the last time you were in here." Mari sighed. "Altissia still has their trade routes closed with us, so we haven't had any new shipments for a few weeks now. There was meant to be some coming in from Tenebrae but they've had terrible snow storms from Lower Gralea." He paused. "Didn't your father tell you?" 

"He doesn't tell me much of what he does at work." Ignis admitted. "Neither did Dad." He stopped short on a worn purple book, with faded gold decor. "I'll settle with this one." 

"Again? You've already read it though." 

"I have, but it never ceases to amaze me." Ignis said with a fond smile. "Far off places, daring sword fights and magic spells. A princess in disguise." 

Mari let out a short laugh. "You make it sound so exciting." 

"It is exciting. It makes me wonder what’s out there." Ignis traced his fingers over the cover, a small smile graces his features. "If it's all real out there. Magic and adventure-" 

"It's a fairytale Ignis." Mari said, frowning. "Magic isn't real."

Ignis felt his smile drop. "Oh, Yes of course." he walked over to the desk, and held out the book. "Just the one here." 

Mari picked up the book that Ignis had returned, and placed it on the newer one. "Here. Keep them." 

"Why?" 

"You're one of the few people that come in here. Let alone read that book specifically." Mari said. "At least they'll get some use with you taking them." 

Ignis tucked the books away into his bag, and picked up the paper bag from the market. "Thank you Mari. Truly I mean it, if there was a way I could repay you-" 

"Don't worry about it. Enjoy the rest of your day Ignis." 

Ignis nodded briefly. "And you." 

Ignis left the library, and hurried off toward home. It was as he was walking along the path to his door when the way forward was blocked by Uldor. 

"Ignis! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you." 

"My apologies Captain Uldor. As I said to you in the market square I had several errands to run-" 

"And now you appear to be done-" Uldor said, placing a hand on Ignis's back and the other across his shoulder, forcing Ignis to turn away from his home. "-what do you say about joining me for dinner at the tavern? I'll even show you some of my medals that I received after the war-" 

_ 'I couldn't think of anything worse.'  _

Was what Ignis wanted to say, but instead he said : 

"Oh, no I couldn't possibly-" twisting out of Uldor's grasp. "I’m meant to be helping Dad before he leaves."

"I'm sure Cor can wait. Ignis, really a few spare minutes of your time-" 

"Forgive me but I must be leaving. Good day to the two of you-" Ignis ran along the path, ignoring Uldor calling out for him. He opened the front door to his home, and slammed it shut. He leant his back against it, and sighed. 

Uldor was getting more and more creative with how he garnered Ignis's attention each day. It wouldn't do- Ignis decided that he would just have to come up with more clever ideas of how to avoid him. 

The hunt would be perfect for a few days at least. At least, if Cor would let him tag along. Ignis had the argument fully planned in his head. Given that he'd been working on it for the past eight years - Cor would most certainly let him tag long. 

Ignis's heart surged with joy at the thought. He made his way to the kitchen, and unloaded the bag from the market. 

"Dad?" He called out once he was done. "Are you home?" 

"In the study Ignis." Cor answered. "Your father is still stuck at Village Hall." 

Ignis followed Cor's voice into the study, where the man was slowly loading up a bag of his own, packed with food and a few pieces of hunting gear. 

"Did you get everything you needed from the market?" 

"Everything on Father's list." Ignis picked up one of the small wrapped packages on the desk. "You're taking a considerable amount of food with you. Are you planning on being gone for long?" 

"A bit longer than usual, yes." Cor said, taking the package from him. "With the incoming storm, your Father has asked me to see if I can procure any extra." 

"And you're not taking anyone with you? Not even Captain Uldor." 

Cor pulled a face. "I'd rather take my chances with Madame Claustra. " 

" _ You're  _ the one who agreed with father to make him Captain." 

"Only because he wouldn't stop pestering Horus. Uldor wanted to be vice mayor or whatever the name is." Cor said. "This was the compromise your father made." 

"Imagine that. Uldor as mayor." Ignis shuddered. "That seems like it would be a terrible idea." 

" _ Ignis _ ." 

"What? You know I'm right. He's terribly thick, a baby would be a better option as Mayor over him." 

"Ignis. Caligo Uldor is a war hero-" 

"So are you." Ignis argued. "And you're much brighter than he is." 

Cor slung his back over his shoulder and laughed. "I would like to think so." He made his way out of the study, Ignis close on his heels. 

"Are you sure you don't need any assistance? If you're going for longer, you'll need the help." Ignis argued. "Especially with the incoming storm." 

They reached the stable outside, and Cor pulled open the doors to reveal the bright green Chocobo inside. 

"Hello boy." Cor said, gently stroking the bird's nose. He walked over, and picked up the saddle, and began to secure it, then moved on to securing the small wagon to the bird. 

"Hello Verdant." Ignis murmured, running a hand down the bird's neck. He glanced over at Cor. 

"Go on. Ask away." Cor said without looking up. "I can see it eating at you." 

"Might I come with you this time?" Ignis rushed out all at once. "I can borrow another bird and-" 

"Ignis-" 

"-I'll bring my own supplies, I'll keep quiet and listen to what you say-" 

"I was afraid you'd ask." Cor said with a sigh. "Next time Ignis. I promise." 

Ignis greatly resisted the urge to stamp his foot in protest, instead he crossed his arms and frowned deeply. "That is what you said that last time." 

"Iggy, I think your Father would genuinely try to gut me if I took you on a hunt with me. Especially with the incoming storm. Besides, he already said no this time." Cor said, he secured the wagon, and stepped away, coming to stand in front of Ignis. "I promise you. For your twenty-fifth birthday, I'll take you along on one of my hunts okay?" 

Ignis sighed, and uncrossed his arms."Fine. But you  _ will  _ let me come with you. No more promises for next time." 

"I think I may have to fight your father on that, but I'll do my best." Cor said with a smile. He pressed a kiss to the top of Ignis's forehead. "I'll be back soon. Take care, Iggy." 

"And you as well." 

Cor nodded, before he saddled up onto Verdant. He waved at Ignis one last time, before urging the chocobo on. Ignis ran after them, watching as Cor reached the outskirts, and disappeared into the forest. He couldn't help but let out a sigh. He didn't want to keep being left behind. 

He would get out of this village.

One way or another. 

**\---**

Cor wasn't prepared for the storm. 

In all his years of being a Hunter, he'd  _ never  _ seen a snowstorm to this degree. 

Cor thought he had been prepared. Even with all of Horus's nagging. He'd packed extra blankets and foods, for both himself and Verdant. 

He hadn't counted on the storm to hit early. He also hadn't counted on the snow to be as heavy as it was. To settle onto the ground, and make it harder for him to move along. He hadn't counted on the strong gusts of wind to blow trees over the path, blocking his way forward, and his way back home. There was only one open path he could take, it was a small, dark path, surrounded by trees on either side. 

Cor leant forward, gently urging Verdant on. "Come on boy." He murmured. "We need to get out of this weather before it gets any worse." 

Verdant let out a few chirps, and trotted off down the path. 

The path twisted and turned, Cor felt dread slowly build in his chest as they delved deeper into the forest. The wind continued to pick up, the icy gale biting into Cor's face. He reached up, pulling the scarf closer around his neck. He glanced up, spotting soft bursts of light peeking out through the trees. 

" _ There."  _ He gently flicked Verdant's reins. "Come on boy. There might be help up ahead."

Verdant chirped, and rushed forward. 

Cor couldn't help the gasp as he saw what lay before them. 

A hauntingly beautiful castle that was surrounded by trees, ivy wrapped around the spires, winding up the castle walls. The windows were dark, all except one; a bright light in a tower on the left. He climbed off of Verdant's back, jumping down into the snow, taking hold of the chocobo's reins, and led the bird forward through the garden in front. 

"Come on Verdant. It looks like there's a stable up there for you." Cor said. "We'll get out of this storm together." 

Cor pushed open the stable doors, and unhooked the wagon and Verdant's saddle. 

"There. Plenty of hay for you." 

Verdant let out a soft  _ wark _ , before nestling into the piles of hay. 

Cor stroked the top of his head. "I'll be right back." He plucked his katana from the wagon, lit one of the small lanterns in the stable; before shutting the doors. Cor made his way to the front of the castle pushing open the heavy doors, he stepped inside. 

Empty, quiet and dark. 

_ Too quiet.  _

He raised his hand, curling his fingers around the hilt of his katana. Dead leaves crunched beneath his feet as he made his way further into the castle. He glanced behind him, he was tracking snow inside. Oh well. He was sure the Castles inhabitants wouldn't mind too much. He knew his husband would and would scold him for such thinking, the thought brought a small smile to his face. He continued to look around still finding no one. 

Where were they? 

The doors to his left flew open; Cor couldn't help but jump. He drew in a breath before making his way over. It looked like a drawing room, with high cabinets, and tall, boarded windows, drawers and furniture covered in a layer of dust. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, over the curtains, and the armchairs in the room. 

But what truly caught Cor's attention, was the roaring fire. 

The  _ freshly made,  _ roaring fire. 

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He should leave. 

He should  _ really  _ leave. 

He should leave right now and go back to Horus and Ignis. 

The storm outside was worsening by the second; Verdant needed the rest too, before they made the long journey back home. The hunt would have to wait, it was too dangerous to go out now.

Cor pushed back the thoughts, and ventured into the room further. He glanced around the room, the shadows seemed to warp and stretch across it. 

He held his hands out to the fire, warming his cold fingers. Ten minutes. He told himself. Ten minutes maximum, and then time to leave. Even if the storm outside was still raging on, there was something unsettling about the castle; Whether it was the eerie quietness, or the fact that there just so happened to be a roaring fire out of nowhere, it just didn't sit right. 

Cor was drawn from his thoughts by faint footsteps along the floor. 

"Hello?" His hand flew to his katana again. "I know you're there. I can hear you. I wont hurt you. I would like to know who it is I should thank for the shelter." 

More steps sounded, several, from all around. 

"I won't hurt you." Cor said again. He paused for a moment, before he unclipped the katana from his belt, and placed it on the ground. He stepped away, hands raised. "I promise you." 

Sudden, harsh whispers drew his attention to the far left corner, one of the darker spots of the room.

"Hello." A voice said. 

A boy stepped out from the shadows, perhaps a little younger than Ignis was, blond hair styled up into a spiked side do, almost chocobo like, and two small red horns stuck out from either side of his head. 

Black veins ran up and down his skin, blue eyes seemingly glowing in the dark. He wore a long red and white robe, tattered, with slash marks along the chest and sleeves. 

"Hello." Cor answered slowly. 

It had almost looked like the boy was a daemon, but he had made no move to attack, leading Cor to do the same. "Did you light the fire?" 

The boy nodded. "We saw you outside in the cold. We thought you might like it." 

"We?" 

The boy nodded. "They're here. They're just hiding from you-" the boy's eyes flicked to the katana by Cor's side, and back to his face. "They don't know if they can trust you yet." 

"And you? Do you always talk to strangers who walk into your castle?" 

"I think if you wanted to hurt us by now you would." 

Cor glanced around the room again, he could make out the shadows shifting slightly, assuming that there were more people like the daemon-boy before him. 

Cor kicked the katana toward the boy. "Why don't you hold onto that then?" 

The boy eyed him curiously, but picked up the katana nonetheless. "Why aren't you afraid?' 

"As you said, if you wanted to attack me, you would have done it by now." 

The shadows warped, and suddenly Cor was surrounded by daemons -  _ people.  _

They were all people, with bright eyes, some with horns, some without, some with tails, he even saw one with wings. 

"Would you like something to eat?" The blond boy asked. 

"I beg your pardon?" 

"We have fresh vegetables!" The boy said. "We harvested them before the storm hit. So we have plenty of-" 

There was a loud thud, the ceiling shook, dust falling from it. 

"What was that?" 

"I told you we shouldn't have let him in!" One of the daemons said, in a low gruff voice. "Aranea isn't going to be happy about this." 

"I had to do something!" The boy said. "She'll listen!" 

"She won't-" a different daemon argued. "He needs to leave-" 

"But the storm-" 

"What are you talking about?" Cor interrupted. "What is going on?" 

" _ You let a stranger in here?!"  _ A sharp voice yelled. 

A shiver ran down Cor's spine. He turned to the door, found blocked by another daemon. 

As the daemon stepped into the soft light of the flickering fire, Cor resisted the urge to make a run for the door just behind the shadow. 

The daemon that emerged from the shadows was a woman, Cor noticed that first and as he looked her over he found she had two sets of horns protruding from her head, face framed by silver hair. A massive set of wings grew out from her back, the same black veins traveled up and down her arms and neck, and a few on her face. A long tail whipped harshly from side to side, and a pair of sharp fangs were drawn out into a fierce snarl. 

"I mean you no harm." Cor said again, his skin prickled the longer the daemon women held her gaze. "I only came seeking shelter-" 

"You aren't welcome here _."  _ she sneered

“Again, I mean you know harm, I was out here with my bird, we were gathering food for a hunt-" 

“A hunter, huh?" The daemon laugh. "Isn't that wonderful. So? Did you come to try your luck against the Daemon Mercenary?' 

"No I-" 

" _ Wait! Aranea don't-" Prompto threw his hands out to stop her.  _

" _Hey Mister run!"_ _another voice squeaked._

Cor ducked under the swing of the daemons arms, running out of the castle and back to the stable. He ripped open the doors, rushing for Verdant. "Verdant! We need to leave at once, let's go-" 

Verdant screeched, flapping his wings as he stood. 

"Calm down, boy we need to-" sharp claws raked across the back of Cor's neck, and he was flung into the other end of the stable. 

Verdant screeched again, and bolted out of the doors, back into the forest. 

Cor's vision swam, he hoped Verdant would make it back to the village. The daemon stared down at him, his last thoughts were of Horus and Ignis, before everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Ignis was sitting at Horus's desk in the study, book open in front of him but he could barely focus. He was twenty-four years old. He wasn't a child anymore. Why couldn't they see that? Ignis was tired of being left behind year after year. He  _ would  _ make father understand that he was ready. He knew how to hunt, he knew what weapons were best, and what herbs and berries were edible and what weren't. He sighed again, and closed the book. Reading about all these adventures was only dejecting him further. 

The front door opened, and Ignis heard his father singing as he walked in. 

"Father?" 

"Ignis?" Horus appeared in the study almost instantly, a confused look on his face. "What are you doing here?" 

Ignis frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"Weren't you going with Cor? On his hunt?" Horus tilted his head slightly, with the two tufts of hair sticking up, he reminded Ignis of an owl. He made his way over to Ignis, reaching out to put the back of his hand against Ignis's forehead. "Are you sick? Is that why you stayed behind?" 

"What? No!" Ignis pushed his Father's hand away. "He said that- he said that  _ you  _ told him I wasn't allowed to go." 

Horus frowned, drawing his hand back. "No I told him to take you along- to let you explore outside of this little town." 

"I don't understand, why would he lie to me?" Ignis shoved the chair back. "Doesn't he trust me?" 

"Ignis don't be ridiculous, of course he does." 

"Explain to me then! Why would he lie-" 

"Ignis, please calm down. There's no need to get so worked up about this." Horus gently laid a hand on Ignis's shoulder. "Come, let us sit and discuss this-" 

Ignis felt a surge of anger. "Discuss what? How Dad clearly doesn't trust me-" 

"Ignis he- he was probably trying to protect you." 

"Protect me?" Ignis echoed. "I'm not a child anymore! I can protect myself, I don't need anyone else's help. I've been studying for years for an opportunity like this, and he wouldn't even give me a chance." 

"Ignis-" his father said, so softly he was almost whispering. "Ignis please. Calm down, and we can talk about this together. And when Cor returns, we will sit down again, and talk about this. Come, I'll make some dinner, you just sit and relax for me alright?" 

Ignis wrenched his arm away from his father's grasp. "I'm going out for some air." 

_ "Ignis wait-"  _

Ignis rushed outside, collecting his cloak as he left. He wrapped it around his shoulders, and made his way down the path, rushing away from Horus calling after him. 

He bumped into someone in his haste, "Apologies." He murmured, and made to carry on, only to find he was rudely yanked back by a hand wrapped harshly around his upper arm. "Just what do you think you're-" Ignis turned to pull his arm away. "Captain Uldor. What are you doing?" 

"I came to talk with you Ignis." Uldor said, his hold on Ignis's arm tightening ever so slightly. "You ran off before I could tell you my invitation for dinner extends to your fathers as well-" 

"My apologies Captain Uldor but now isn't the best of times-" Ignis said, attempting to pull his arm away. "Perhaps another-" 

"Ignis-" Uldor squeezed Ignis's arm, practically digging his fingers into it. "You've turned me down several times already, one of these days you are going to have to join me-" 

"You're hurting me." Ignis hissed, attempting to pry Uldor's hand away. 

"As I told you Ignis. You will be joining me for dinner. So we can-" Uldor squeezed his arm tightly. "-avoid such instances as this. 

Ignis huffed, planted his free hand on Uldor's chest and shoved. "As I told you,  _ Uldor.  _ No." 

Ignis ran as soon as he was free, ignoring Uldor calling after him. He ran until he reached the edge of town. Light snow had begun to fall, leaving the ground covered in frost. Ignis collapsed, knees hitting the dirt, overwhelmed by everything.

He knew it was foolish getting so angry. 

He knew it was pointless. 

Yet,  _ why …  _

A strangled  _ wark  _ drew him from his thoughts. 

"Verdant?" Ignis stood up, staring into the trees. "Verdant!" He called again. 

The brightly coloured chocobo rushed out of the forest, Verdant's feathers were ruffled, the bird looking extremely agitated and on edge. 

" _ Shh _ , it's alright boy, calm down." Ignis said, he grabbed onto the reins, letting at the bird's beak. "Did something happen? Where's Dad?" 

Verdant screeched, pulling at the reins, leading Ignis to the forest. 

"Something happened to him?" Ignis glanced back at the house, and then into the forest. He jumped, and clambered onto Verdant. "Alright, take me to him." 

\--- 

Of all the things to find in a forest, Ignis never expected to find a castle, it was almost like something out of one of his books. An overgrown and crumbling castle, that the brave knight would venture in to slay a dragon. Although Ignis hoped he wouldn't  _ have to  _ slay a dragon. He may have had training but he wasn't quite prepared for that. 

"You're sure Dad's here?" Ignis asked, he petted along Verdant's neck, as the bird nervously chirped and bucked in front of the castle doors. 

Ignis jumped down and patted Verdant's beak. "Steady boy. You stay here." 

Ignis walked up the stone steps, and pushed open the heavy front doors. He poked his head inside first, it was dark and empty looking, he slipped further inside, and quietly shut the doors behind him. There was a door open to his left. Ignis made his way to it, suddenly wishing he had brought along one of his daggers. 

A tight feeling bloomed in his chest. 

Laying on the floor, in front of the remains of a once lit fire was Cor's katana. Ignis picked up immediately, clutching at it with both hands, he quickly left the room. 

"Okay Ignis." He muttered to himself. "Time to start looking." Leaving the chamber, he started to climb up the grand staircase. 

He walked down a hallway that seemed to have no end in sight. 

There were endless noises throughout, what sounded like footsteps and whispers, but each time Ignis turned to look, there was nothing except shadows and cobwebs. 

" _ Hello _ ?" Ignis called out, regretting it almost immediately. "Is someone there?" 

Footsteps echoed from behind and Ignis whirled around; another door had opened up. 

Ignis tightened his grip on the katana, and crept toward the door. It led to a wide set of spiral stairs.

"Hello?" He called out. "Dad? Are you there?" Ignis started to climb slowly, white knuckled grip on the katana. There was a set of cells at the top of the stairs, a single beam of light shone down from a small window in the wall. 

"Dad?" Ignis called out again, peering into the empty cells near him. "Dad are you here?" 

"Ignis?" a voice croaked 

"Dad!" Ignis rushed toward the voice, dropping the katana letting it clatter to the floor without a further thought. "Dad? Is that you." Ignis knelt down, and tugged at the cell door. 

"Ignis what, what are doing here-" Cor started to cough, heavy rattling breaths. He pushed himself up from the floor, and reached out for Ignis through the bars of the cell. 

"Your hands are like ice." Ignis said, he reached up touching Cor's forehead. "You're sick. We need to get you out of here-" 

"No, you need to leave-" Cor began to say, getting cut off by another fit of coughing. 

"I won't leave you here." Ignis picked up Cor's katana, and stood. He removed it from its sheath. "Perhaps I could-" 

" _ What do you think you're doing here?!"  _ A voice snarled from the darkness. 

Ignis held the katana out in front of him. "Who's there?" 

" _ You aren't welcome here."  _ the voice snarled again, it was coming closer with each statement. 

"I'm just here for my Dad. I mean you no harm." Ignis said. "Please, he's sick, let me help him." 

_ "He was trespassing. He should never have come here " _ the voice came from his left, looking from his peripherals, Ignis could see nothing among the shadows. 

"Please! Let him go. I'll do anything." 

_ "There's nothing you can do." _ The voice hissed. " _ He is my prisoner. _ " 

"Let me take his place." Ignis said. "Allow me to take his place, and let him go." 

"Ignis no, you can't-" Cor tried to reach for Ignis but another coughing fit overtook him. 

_ "You would really take his place?" _

"If I do…" Ignis said. "Will you let him go?" 

_ "Fine." _ The voice said. " _ But you'll stay here. Forever. That is the deal _ ." 

Ignis pondered over it for a moment, and squinted into the darkness, where he could just make out a vague figure hidden in the shadows. 

"Come into the light." Ignis said. Astrals above he hoped his voice wasn't shaking. "I demand to know who I am speaking to. I won't be making any sort of deal if I can't see your face." 

" _ Hmm."  _ Was all he heard before the figure walked out from the shadows. 

Ignis let out a gasp as the daemon approached. Her piercing green eyes caught him off guard.They were enchanting. She was pretty for a daemon, if one could call a daemon pretty. 

Ignis quickly regained his composure, and sheathed the katana. He held out his hand toward the daemon. "Very well. I agree to your terms." 

" _ Ignis no!"  _ Cor yelled. "You shouldn't be throwing your life away for me-" 

"You've got yourself a deal." The daemon said. 

"Will you allow me to say goodbye?" 

"Five minutes." The daemon unlocked the door to Cor's cell, stepping back as Cor practically crawled out of the cell, and took hold of Ignis's hands. 

"Dad-" 

"Ignis, what are you doing? You have your whole life to ahead of you-" 

"If I'm trapped here or in the village, what does it matter?" Ignis drew in a breath. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap at you. Especially not now-" 

"No, I'm sorry Ignis. If I had let you come along with me, perhaps this wouldn't have happened-" 

The daemon grabbed onto the back of Cor's shirt. "Time to go." 

" _ Wait-"  _ Ignis held onto Cor's hand as long as he could, until it was practically ripped from his own. "Tell- tell Father I'm sorry." 

\--- 

_ "Take him as far as you can. Stay hidden. Don't get caught."  _

_ "We should take him straight to the village. He won't last out in the weather."  _

_ "Not my problem."  _

_ "But the boy-"  _

_ "All I said was that I was going to set his father free. He isn't our concern anymore. So do as I say and take him as far as you can. Shortcake would say the same."  _

\--- 

Ignis turned away from the window, resting his back against the wall, he slid until he hit the floor, hands clasped over his mouth. He was helpless as he watched more humanoid-daemons carry Cor away from the castle. Would he even make it back? And what would Father say? 

He felt his shoulders beginning to shake. 

_ He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't cry _ . 

Ignis pulled his knees up to his chest, and rested his head against them. He took deep breaths, attempting to calm himself down. 

He wasn't sure how long he sat like that before he heard patterning footsteps. He looked up, and saw even more daemons, three to be precise. 

The taller of the three had scars across his face, and one across his chest. Black veins travelled along his skin, he had a pair of large black horns on his head; making him look even taller, and a pair of sharp-looking wings that seemed to drag on the floor. 

One of the two shorter ones approached, his eerie blue eyes set Ignis's nerves on edge. 

The daemon knelt down, holding his tattered white and red robes aside. "Hello." He said. "My name's Prompto. What's your name?" 

Ignis struggled to find his voice. "Ignis." 

"It's nice to meet you Ignis." Prompto stood up, and pointed to the larger daemon. "The big guy is Gladio. And this is Noct!" Prompto turned to the other daemon, whose face was covered by a black hood. "No need to be shy dude! Say hi!" Prompto said, pulling the daemon forward. 

Noct waved his hand, refusing to look up from beneath his hood. "Hey."

"What do you want?" Ignis asked. "Why are you here?" 

"Oh! Aranea told us to take you to your room." Prompto said. "She'll be joining us later." 

"My room?" Ignis echoed. "But I thought-" 

"You thought what? She was just gonna leave you up here forever?" 

"You seemed to have no problems leaving my dad." Ignis snapped.

Noct let out a short laugh. "He's not wrong there.” Promto fidgeted with the edges of his robes before speaking. 

"Well, come on. We'd better get a move on." Prompto said. 

Gladio stepped forward, offering his hand out to Ignis. He accepted it, and allowed Gladio to pull him up to his feet. He hesitated for a moment, and swiped the katana from the ground. Gladio eyed him warily for a moment, before turning his back, planting himself between Noct and Ignis. 

"Alright, just follow me." Prompto said, leading the way back down the set of steps. "I think I should apologise for earlier too. You caught Aranea in a bad mood." 

"A bad mood is being snappy with people and not talking to them." Ignis said. "It isn't locking someone up in a dungeon." 

"She doesn't really like people coming in here. It's for everyone's safety you know?" 

"What do you mean ‘everyone's safety?'

"It's difficult to explain." Gladio cut in, he turned to look over his shoulder at Ignis. "But it's an explanation for later. You've had a stressful day. You should just get some rest." 

Ignis rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I'm sure the Castle's Mistress Is just dying to give me an explanation." 

"Huh? Oh Aranea isn't the Castle's Mistress." Prompto chuckled lightly 

"She isn't?Then who-" Ignis was cut off

"I out rank her. So, _technically_ I'm in charge. And Aranea's kind of like my bodyguard?" Prompto said. 

"Bodyguard?" Ignis stopped in his tracks. "Just who are you to warrant a bodyguard?" 

"Don't worry about it." Prompto said with a wave of his hand. "It was a long time ago." 

"I see." It all bugged Ignis horribly. Nothing seemed to make sense, and he had far more questions then the others seem to be willing to answer. 

Ignis reached out to a suit of armour, drawing his hand back as a small spider crawled across it. "What sort of place is this? Why are the windows boarded up?" 

"Again, an explanation for later." Gladio said. "But what we can say, is that you're free to go around the castle wherever you want. It's your home now. So, explore to your heart's content-" 

"Expect for the West Wing-" 

" _ Dude! _ " Prompto punched Noctis's arm. 

"Uh, which we don't have. A West Wing that is." Noctis stuttered. "Because it doesn't exist." 

"Why?" Ignis asked, curious. "What's in the West Wing?" 

"Nothing." The others answered far too quickly. 

They'd finally made their way back into the open foyer. 

"This way." Gladio gestured to the right hand side of the room. "To the East Wing." 

"You mean the only wing!" 

"Right," 

Ignis glanced over to the left hand side of the room. The shadows seemed to warp and stretch across the empty space. He found himself drawn to it, his curiosity begging him to take a look. 

He began to move to it, only for someone to take hold of his upper arm and pull him back. 

_ Again.  _

Although unlike Uldor, Noctis was barely touching Ignis, his hand loosely cupped around his bicep - but the movement had caused Noctis's hood to slip back, and Ignis saw his face for the first time. 

Noct had another two sets of eyes, above and below the normal placement, and the same black veins that the others had stretched across his skin. 

With his free hand, Noctis scrambled to pull his hood back over his face. "Sorry specs. But really. It's for the best if you stay out of the West Wing. Just… trust me okay?" 

"Really Ignis. I wouldn't tell you if it wasn't for your benefit. But do  _ not  _ go into the West Wing. Promise me?". 

With his free arm, Ignis crossed his fingers behind his back. "I promise. I won't go into the West Wing." 

"Good." Noctis nodded. "I'm gonna hold on to you. Just until we get to your room okay?" 

Ignis sighed. "Very well. You don't trust I'll stay put?" 

"I think you're gonna give us Hell, Specs." 

They walked together, Noctis pointing out various pieces of armour and art lining the walls.

"Here." Gladio had said once they had reached a room at the end of a long corridor. "This is where you will be staying." 

Noctis let go of Ignis's arm, and pushed open the door for him. 

There wasn't much to the room. It was dimly lit, a thin layer of dust coated the floor. The window had been boarded up, blocking light from coming in. 

"Cozy." Ignis muttered. 

The other boy's voices became hushed whispers behind him. 

"I hope you like it here." a new voice called 

Ignis startled, turning to see the daemon that dragged Cor away,  _ Aranea,  _ standing in the doorway. 

"You can ask anyone here if you need anything. We will do our best to provide for you." She said. 

Prompto tugged on her arm, rising up on tiptoes to whisper something to her. 

Aranea frowned, before glancing back to Ignis. "We're going to begin dinner. You'll join us. Someone will be by to collect you." 

The daemons left, shutting the door behind them. 

Ignis glanced around the room, he set the katana down on top of the chest of drawers, and made his way to the bed, pressing on it. He drew back, and stared down at his dust free hands.They were cold and dry; he'd left his gloves at home, it seemed rather silly, Ignis thought. To get so worked up over a pair of gloves, but Father had given them to him when he had turned eighteen, and Ignis had treasured them dearly, wearing them almost every day, and had found they had never worn, even after several years of use. 

His throat tightened, and he felt tears form in the corner of his eyes. In all honesty the only thing Ignis could think to do was to throw himself on the bed and cry like one of the damsels in the stories he read. He wouldn't resort to that. Instead, he sat himself down on one of the ends, very carefully laid back, moved his glasses aside, and pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. 

It seemed to help, if only a little. 

Suddenly a small series of knocks sounded at his door. 

Ignis sat up immediately. "Who's there?" 

"Lunafreya." A voice answered. "I thought you might like some tea to keep yourself warm. Might I come in?" 

Ignis pushed himself up, and quickly strode over to the door, opening it. " _ Oh-"  _

There were another two daemons at the door. The one who knocked, Lunafreya she had said, was pushing in a tea cart, her face partly hidden by a white cloak.

But when she looked up, Ignis saw that her eyes were similar to Noctis's, the multiple sets focused on him, and the black veins stuck out harsh against her pale skin. Her fingers were clawed ever so slightly, ending in sharp points.

There was a young boy behind her. His eyes seemed to glow too, and he was smiling, showing off sharp fangs, and a long tail that flicked from side to side eagerly. 

"Hello." The boy simply said, before ducking behind Lunafreya. 

"Hello." Ignis couldn't help but stare. "Forgive me if this sounds rude Miss Lunafreya-" 

"Luna will suffice." The daemon said, rolling in the cart until it was beside the bed. "Lunafreya is far too formal for my liking." 

" _ Luna, _ " Ignis said. "Forgive me, but, is  _ everyone  _ in this castle a-" 

"Daemon?" She answered. "Yes. We are. There aren't many of us within the castle, but we have all taken this demonic form. However, this was not our choice." 

"What do you mean by that?" 

Lunafreya poured out two cups of tea. "Forgive me. I don't think it is my place to explain, you are best off asking one of the others."

"Hello!" The boy said again. "I'm Talcott! What's your name Mister?" 

"Hello Talcott." Ignis said. "I'm Ignis." 

He couldn't help but think thatTalcott reminded him of the children from the orphanage.

"It's nice to meet you Mister Ignis!" Talcott picked up one of the cups, and held it out. "Here! This is for you, me and Miss Luna made tea for you before dinner." 

"That's very kind of you, truely-" Ignis said, taking the cup, after all it would be rude not to,"-but I am afraid I will not be attending dinner." 

"But Aranea had asked-" 

"I am fully aware that she  _ told  _ me to be at dinner. She did not ask. I simply refuse to go." Ignis said, sitting down on the bed.

"I must apologise for Aranea's behaviour," Lunafreya said. "She isn't usually so terrible-" 

"She had my dad locked away in a cell." Ignis said with a raise of his brow. "You truly expect me to believe that she is a nice person-" 

"If you perhaps gave her a chance to apologise. I think she admires what you did. It was awfully brave of you to take your dad's place." 

"So admirable that she made me swear to stay here? I've lost the little freedom I had back home." Ignis argued, the teacup in his hands shook a little, and he set it back down onto the cart before it spilled. 

Whatever Lunafreya was about to say was cut off by someone knocking on the door, yet another daemon had come to stand at the door.

This one had braided hair, and steely eyes, with small markings on their face, almost like small tattoos. Sharp fangs and a pair of horns stuck out from his head. "I was sent to come and get you, dinner won't be done for awhile but your presence is requested." 

"Ah." Lunafreya crossed the room, bowing her head down to the other daemon. "I'm afraid we won't be joining you and the others tonight Nyx. Ignis is feeling a touch under the weather." 

Ignis turned away from the door, and listened to Talcott chattering away to him instead.

"Do you like Cactuars, Mister Ignis? I love them, they're my favourite and I gotta bunch of collectables-" 

\---

Aranea stared at the door. "Where is he? I asked him to dinner, didn't I?" 

"Yeah but, don't forget he did watch his dad get dragged away by a daemon, and lose his freedom all in one day." Gladio said from the other side of the table. "What're we eating?" 

Noctis shrugged. "Garula I think?" 

"That's not reassuring." 

Aranea rolled her eyes, turning away from the conversation before she felt a tap on her arm. "What, shortcake?" 

"You've thought about it, haven't you?" Prompto asked. "He could be the one right? The one to break the spell?" 

"I guess so." 

I think he is!" Prompto insisted. "We saw the way you were looking at him! He's a handsome dude-" 

"Real pretty looking-" Noctis added. "You might have a shot with this one." 

"Yeah fine he's pretty." Aranea admitted. "He's… he seems different from all the others. He actually had the nerve to stand up to me." 

"Great, so you two fall in love, kiss by midnight, _boom,_ spell's broken and we're back to bein' human-" Prompto said with a wave of his arms. 

"Nah it doesn't work like that Prom. They actually gotta fall in love, it takes time." Gladio said. 

"But the rose-" Prompto began. 

"We all know we're on borrowed time, Highness." A different daemon addressed Prompto, cutting him off, the collar of her jacket pulled high to hide the black veins across her face, eyes as black as coal, and a slight forked tongue. 

"But Crowe-" 

"But nothing." Aranea interrupted. "It's not like I'll actually have a chance. Look at me, and look at him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure turning into a literal daemon puts a damper on any chance I have with him." 

"He could be into that-" 

Gladio shoved Noct aside and turned to Aranea. "You could at least try, you know?" 

"Fine. I'll humour you. What do you want me to do?" Aranea sighed, turning to face him. 

"Don't look so scary for starters. Be friendly when he walks in, and uh smile at him? But don't show your fangs." 

Aranea parted her lips, attempting to smile, but she looked to be more in pain than anything. "There-" 

"Compliment him too." Noctis added. "Be sincere, but not overbearing-" 

"Remember to control that temper of yours." Crowe said. "Just because we're used to it doesn't mean everyone else is." 

The dining hall door opened slowly. 

"Hey! Here he is!" Prompto whispered. "Remember what we said- Oh, Nyx? You're alone?" 

Aranea turned back to the door. "Where is he?" 

Nyx hesitated for a moment. "He said he isn't coming down to dinner." 

" _ He what?!"  _ Aranea stormed out of the dining hall, rushing to Ignis's room and started banging on the door. "Hey! Open this door!" 

The others chased after her. 

The room door opened a crack, Ignis's face appearing in it. "May I help you?" 

"Open the door." 

"It is open. Can't you see-" 

An exasperated sigh of : " _ Ignis-"  _ sounded from in the room. 

_ Ah _ . So that's where Luna had gone. Aranea thought. 

Ignis huffed, and opened the door wider. "What is it you require?" 

Aranea crossed her arms. "I told you that you were meant to be coming down to dinner. You were meant to join us." 

"No." 

" _ No?"  _ Aranea asked. "What do you mean no?" 

"I mean no. If you would like me to join you for dinner, then you will ask me, not tell me." Ignis leant against the door frame with his arms crossed. "Ask me again.  _ Nicely."  _

"Ignis. Come to dinner with me.  _ Please _ ." Aranea ground out from between her fangs. 

Ignis shook his head. "Now, say it without sounding like you're telling me to drop dead." 

" _ Ignis."  _ Aranea smiled, showing off her pointed teeth. "Will you  _ pretty please with cherries on top,  _ join me for a lovely home cooked dinner?" 

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm," he sighed. "But the sentiment is there." 

"So? You gonna join me now?" 

Ignis smiled at her, and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. " _ No."  _ \- and slammed the door shut. 

"Wha-Hey!" Arana knocked on the door again. "Open the damn door Four-Eyes!" 

“Do you really think name calling will make me open the door?” Ignis yelled through the door. “Leave me alone!”    
  
“I told you to join us for dinner!”    
  
“As I told you, no! I’m not hungry.” 

"You can't stay in there forever!" Aranea yelled, she felt herself getting angrier, partly her own temper flaring up, but largely from the lingering daemon presence. 

" _ Aranea, calm down _ !" Prompto argued.   
  


"Yes I can!" Ignis called back. "I thought I told you to leave me alone!" 

  
“Fine. Go ahead and starve for all I care!” Aranea yelled, she gave the door a kick, and turned away from it. "The rest of you go and eat, don't let it go to waste." 

She stormed down the corridor, turning into the West Wing, until she came to a small room, partially hidden by a bookcase;opening the door she kicked at empty boxes that were in her way. There was a chest of drawers in the room, the attached mirror smashed to pieces, a singular bed, covers torn and dumped on the floor. Shredded clothing scattered about the room. A slashed painting, tossed onto one side. 

And by the window, a glowing red rose in a glass case, it was drooping over, wilting. A cluster of dead petals lay at the stem. 

Aranea stared at her reflection in the shattered mirror. " _ Way to go Highwind.  _ You really screwed things up." 

There was a small decorative hand mirror on top of the chest of drawers. Aranea picked it up, and stared into it. "Show him to me." 

The surface of the mirror shifted, and it warped. Until it showed Ignis in his room:

Ignis was sitting on the bed, arms crossed with a furious look on his face. 

"Ignis, please, Aranea isn't so bad once you get to know her." Lunafreya pleaded. 

"I do not wish to get to know her." Ignis hissed. "I shouldn't have to! I want nothing to do with her." 

Aranea set down the magic mirror back onto the drawer. She walked over to the rose, and gently placed her hand on the glass. "Who am I kidding."

Another petal fluttered down off of the rose. 

_ "I'm nothing but a monster." _


	3. Chapter 3

Cor stumbled through the forest; The daemons had dropped him off near where the path had split, but the storm had also left more fallen trees in its wake, the ground covered in thick snow. Bolstering himself, Cor started to make the long trek back home. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself, grateful that the daemons had let him keep it. He glanced down at his hands, noticing his fingertips starting to turn blue. He could see each of his breaths in front of him as he moved. His legs were heavy, and his head felt like it was spinning. 

The trees started to thin out in front of him, and he could see the roof of his house through them. 

He forced himself to move, his chest heaved with the effort. He pushed past the branches, stumbling to the ground; gritting his teeth Cor picked himself off of the ground, and made his way into his home. 

"Horus!" He called out, shoving the front door open. "Horus where are you?" 

The house was empty, Horus was nowhere to be seen. Cor spun wildly searching the small home for his husband. He tossed blankets off beds and threw doors open so hard they crashed into the walls behind them. He needed to find Horus, he had to find help. As he stood in one of their doorways sudden clarity came to Cor,  _ The tavern.  _

As much as Cor hated to admit it, Chief Uldor would likely be his best chance at getting help. He pushed himself to walk to it, stumbling over the icy path. He ignored the startled cries of the other townsfolk. They murmured as he passed, worried about him, what could have happened to him? 

Cor pushed open the door to the tavern and shouted, his legs giving out after being pushed to their limit "Uldor!" 

"Cor?" A few of the men in the tavern picked him up off the floor. 

"I need help -" Cor said, grasping onto their arms. "She's got him locked away-" 

"What are you talking about Cor?" Uldor made his way over, Loqi trailing behind him. 

"Ignis, we need to leave at once-" 

"Cor," Uldor took hold of his arms, grasping them right. "You're clearly sick, you need to get some rest. We'll take you to Horus he's-" 

"You aren't  _ listening  _ to me." Cor argued. "I need to go back for Ignis-" 

"Cor!" Horus rushed into the tavern, shoving everyone else aside. "Cor, what happened to you? Where's Ignis? Is he outside-" he cup Cor's face with his hands, "you're burning up- let's go home." Horus turned to Cor, and draped one of his arms over his shoulder. 

"I'll assist you." Uldor said, taking Cor's other side. "Loqi, get the doors." 

The young man rushed to the doors and held it open for the captain and mayor to pass through, Loqi trailed behind them making sure that if there was any lag he could pick up the pace for them. 

It wasn't a very long walk from the tavern to Horus’ and Cor’s home, once there hours tutted at the state Cor left the place in, he had the captain help him get Cor out of the ragged cloak and shirt. Horus dressed him in a clean one, then asked for the captain to wait outside as he finished with redressing his husband. Horus reached for the cloth and water basin on their bedside table and placed a cool cloth on Cor's forehead. 

"Horus, you have to let me go find him-" 

"Not now." Horus argued. "You need to rest. Ignis is a smart young man, he's studied intently for years. Have faith that he will be alright. Or do you not trust your own son?" 

"Of course I do-" 

"Then why did you tell him no?" Horus said. "Why did you say that I said no? You can't keep protecting him forever." 

Cor was silent for a moment. "I didn't want him to get hurt." 

"It's a bit late for that now isn't it." Horus hissed. He took a deep breath, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to snap at you love-" 

"No you're right." Cor said, cutting him off. "If I had taken Ignis along with me, this wouldn't have happened." 

Horus didn't answer for a moment, he was lost in thought. "I'll be right back. I'll make you something to eat, see if we can't get you warmed up." He kissed Cor on the forehead, and swiftly left the room. 

Cor sighed, resting his head back against his pillow. A cough drew his attention to the entrance of the room. "Captain Uldor, I didn't realise you were still here. Thank you for your assistance." 

Uldor bowed his head slightly, and stepped into the room. "After everything you have done for the town? It is the least I can do. Now, what were you talking about? What happened to Ignis?" 

"There's a castle, hidden in the forest, the daemon who lives there- Ignis offered a trade, his life for mine." Cor said. "I need to go back and -" 

"Hush now." Uldor cut him off. "You're no good to Ignis running yourself to the ground. Rest, and then tomorrow, you, I and Loqi will go look for him." 

"You would help me? Why?" 

"You and Horus are dear friends, Cor." Uldor said with a grin. "It would be my honour to help you. Now, we will leave you to rest, and return tomorrow." 

Cor nodded. "Thank you, Uldor. And you as well Loqi." 

\--- 

"What exactly are you hoping to gain from helping him Uldor?" Loqi asked as they walked away from the house. "You clearly have some motive for this." 

"It's simple. You and I will go along with Cor to find wherever Ignis has run off to, but on the way back, There will be an unfortunate and _unforeseen_ accident, one which Cor will _unfortunately_ not survive and while I would do my best to save him..." Uldor said with a sickening grin and a light shrug of the shoulders trailing off and not finishing his statement. "Ignis will be so grateful I saved _him_ , that he will ask what he can do as a reward, and then-" Uldor snapped his fingers. "I marry him, get rid of Horus _in another unforeseen and unfortunate accident_ , Ignis will be incredibly distraught and be in no position to take over his father's duties, making _me_ the Mayor by default." 

Loqi stared for a moment, mouth opening and closing in disbelief before he found his voice. "That is an awfully convoluted plan. It also depends if Cor is telling the truth. Do you truly believe that a daemon has Ignis locked away in a tower like some sort of fairytale princess?" 

"As long as we find him, what does it matter?" Uldor said. "Either way, everything works out for me." 


	4. Chapter 4

Lunafreya and Talcott left his room about half an hour ago, having left for their own dinner, but Ignis refused to sulk in his own misery, and set about dusting off the room as best he could. He felt trapped in such a small room, and slightly hungry too. He glanced at the door to his room. He was free to look around after all, and the kitchens couldn't be too far could they? Walking over to the door, hesitating to push it open. Ignis glanced back at the katana on top of the drawers. 

There wasn't a need to bring it with him, right? 

_Right._

Ignis slowly pushed open the door, and peaked out. There were two daemons standing guard at the end of the hallway, Nyx, and then another he didn't recognise. Ignis let out a deep breath, and shook off his nerves. He stepped out of the room, and began to walk down the hallway at a brisk pace. 

"Gentleman." Ignis said, pushing past the guards. 

"Hey wait-" Nyx called out to him. "Where are you going?" 

"For a walk." Ignis replied. "I'm allowed to." 

"Didn't say you weren't." Nyx said. "Anything we can do to help?" 

"I'm Libertus." The other guard announced. "Like Nyx said, anything we can do to help?" 

"I am a tad peckish. But it's nothing to be concerned with, I'm sure I can find my way toward the kitchen-" 

"No trouble." Nyx clapped him on the shoulder, and lightly pushed Ignis forward, resting a hand between his shoulder blades. "Come on. We can take you." 

"Really gentleman, there is no need for all this." Ignis tried to protest. 

"No use trying to argue." Libertus said. "Nyx is a stubborn asshole. We just let him get away with it because he cooks for us." 

"Oh," Ignis turned to him. "I apologise if I caused trouble for everyone else." 

"You apologise to much." Nyx said. "You can make it up to us by eating now." 

Libertus pushed open the door to the dining room. "We have a guest." He announced to the others in the room. 

Ignis recognised almost everyone there. Apart from the two dark haired women chatting to Lunafreya, and the white-blond haired man sitting across from Noctis with a scowl on his face. 

"Ignis!" Prompto grinned, he stood and waved from his seat at the head of the table. "Nice of ya to join us! Come on, there's a seat right next to me and Noct!" 

Nyx gently nudged him forward, and Ignis suddenly felt extremely flustered as he walked over. 

"Here you go." Noctis pushed a small bowl toward Ignis. "Eat up. It's not as hot as it was but it's still edible." 

"What is it?" Ignis asked. 

"Soup." Nyx answered. "Family recipe." 

"I'm eager to try." Ignis felt everyone staring at him as he tried the meal. "It's wonderful truly." 

"Great to hear!" Nyx said with a grin. "There's plenty more dishes where that came from-" 

"Oh no I couldn't-" Ignis began, stumbling over himself as the others produced more dishes. "This is far too much-" 

"It's no trouble Ignis!" Prompto grinned. "Besides, I think Nyx likes having someone other than us to feed." 

" _And_ someone who actually eats their vegetables." Gladio added, slapping Noct on the back. 

" _Ow!"_ Noctis shoved him aside. "At least I eat my food like a normal person and not inhale it." 

Gladio laughed, and shoved Noctis back again. "That just means I enjoyed my food." 

Lunafreya brought her hand to her mouth, stifling her laugh. "Now gentlemen, no bickering in front of our guest." 

"Sorry Luna." Noctis bowed his head briefly, before turning to Ignis. "So Ignis, what's your home like?" 

"There's not much to tell in all honesty." Ignis said. "I live with my parents, Dad is the head hunter, Father is the mayor. And… and this is the first time I've stepped away from my little town." 

"You've _never_ been outside of it?" 

"No." Ignis admitted. "They refuse to admit it but my parents are terribly over protective."

"Why's that?" 

"I was playing on the outskirts of the village when I was young, a Coeurl had wandered close to the village." Ignis shifted in his seat, before he pulled back the sleeve of his shirt. There was an imprint of an animal's bite mark in his forearm, a small chorus of gasps sounded around the table. Ignis let go of the sleeve, and pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing a slash of harsh-jagged scars that disappeared into it. "It tried to drag me away, had Dad not arrived when he did and scared it off, it likely would have succeeded." 

"All that happened when you were a kid- sorry you had to go through all that." Gladio said. 

"No need to apologise. It's not like you had anything to do with it." Ignis said with a wave of his hand. "However, I do apologise. I've brought the mood down and ruined a lovely dinner." 

"You haven't ruined anything." Nyx said, swapping out the now empty soup bowl for a different plate. "But if you think the soup was great, then try the main." 

Ignis allowed himself to step away from the conversation as dinner continued. He was introduced to the two dark haired women, Crowe, another of the guards, and Iris, Gladio's younger sister, and also Ravus, who was Lunafreya's older brother. The conversation around Ignis bloomed with inside jokes, some of which required Lunafreya to cover Talcott's ears, along with Prompto asking for stories from the village. By the time dessert was over with, Ignis had strangely felt closer to all of them, even despite his circumstances.

Libertus had collected the dishes. "I take it you had a liking for the food?" 

Ignis nodded. "The food was lovely, thank you. I… I appreciate it." 

"Least we can do." Noctis said. "Since you're living here now." 

"Oh- speakin' of-" Prompto stood up, shoving his chair back. "Can we give you the tour? In case you need to find your way around and you can't find one of us!" 

Ignis frowned. "What about Aranea?"

"Don't worry about her!" Prompto said. " _I'm_ her boss, remember?" 

"I know Miss Aranea seems scary-" Talcott added. "But she's actually a big softie!" 

"He's right." Prompto pulled Ignis out of his seat. "Come on! Let's show you around." 

"I want to go too!" Talcott said, jumping out of his own seat. "I want to show Mister Ignis the chocobo stables!" 

"Maybe tomorrow Talcott, it's getting late." Iris said, reaching out to ruffle Talcott's hair. 

"Aww but-" 

"No butts! Ignis is still going to be here tomorrow. You can show him the stables tomorrow." 

Talcott mournfully glanced over at Ignis. "Can I show you tomorrow Mister Ignis?"

Ignis couldn't help but have a soft spot for the boy. "I'll be waiting." 

Everyone bade their goodbyes, and parted ways for the night. Ignis was left with Noctis, Prompto and Gladio.They'd wandered back to the main hall with the grand staircase from earlier. They stood in front of the painting lined the walls, depicting greater landscapes and the Astrals. 

"Almost all the paintings here date back to the reign of Ancient Solheim ." Gladio said. "They were gifts from another kingdom." 

"Another kingdom." Ignis repeated. "Which would that be?" 

The trio glanced at each other. 

"Insomnia." Noctis answered. 

"Insomnia isn't a real place." Ignis let out a laugh. "If you don't want to tell me that's perfectly fine. There's no need to make something up." 

"I'm not lying." Noctis said. "They really are from Insomnia. I don't know why you think I'm lying." 

Ignis crossed his arms, glancing off into the darker, West Wing of the hall. Why were they so hesitant to let him go there? He had to find out. 

"Fine, say I believe you. What exactly is this place then? Is this someone's castle or are you merely living here out of convenience.

"I'll answer that for you Iggy!" Prompto said. "This is my castle." 

Ignis raised a brow at the nickname, but let it slide. "Your castle?" He echoed. "Should I be addressing you as 'Your Majesty' then?" 

"Oh _Astrals_ no." Prompto said, waving his hands about. "Just Prompto is fine! Besides, I'm not really much of a Prince or anything you know, being exiled and whatever-" 

" _Exiled?"_

"Anyway, enough of that! Let's show you around the rest of the castle." Prompto waved him off, and started to walk down the brightly lit East Wing. 

"There's the main ballroom, the music room, the bath chambers," Noctis listed. "What else you think Specs'll like-" 

"Honestly, what is with these nicknames-" Ignis sighed. 

Gladio was still watching him. There wasn't a chance to run for it yet. 

"The Library?" Gladio said. "There's a couple of good books in the main study but the library is where the real gems are." 

Ignis felt his heart leap, he'd thought of his copy of ' _The Opera Ghost'_ he'd left behind. 

"You have a library?" 

Gladio nodded. "Uh huh. It's real nice and peaceful. There's tons of books in there too." 

"He means it, you know." Noctis added. "Literally, and I don't think Prompto's read a single one." 

"Just because I don't read mushy romance novels like Gladio doesn't mean I can't read." Prompto said shoving Noctis aside. "You're one to talk." 

"I do read." Noctis replied, grinning and shoving Prompto back. 

Prompto elbowed him. "Yeah, only when Luna asks you to read to her." 

Ignis could have sworn Noctis was blushing. 

" _Oh shut up."_ Noctis elbowed him back, the two ending up rough-housing with each other. 

"Alright you two, knock it off in front of the guest. We don't want him thinking we're total idiots-" Gladio said, making his way over to them. 

_There._

Ignis waited until Gladio reached them, before turning and nimbly rushing off to the West Wing. It was terribly dark. Like earlier, the shadows in the West Wing warped the surroundings. There were even more cobwebs, stretching across the walls, the suits of armour, and even some of the tapestries. Ignis let out a huff, he'd almost reached the end of the grand hallway, and he couldn't see anything that would be worthy of being kept hidden. 

He thought the whole thing was rather underwhelming. 

Ignis stopped short of the end of the hallway and turned around, but before he could leave, something caught his eye. 

There was a faint red glow coming from behind a bookshelf. 

Ignis found himself moving toward it, as if in a trance. The room was in shambles. Broken furniture and scattered clothing, cobwebs and dust on every surface. There was a shredded portrait in the room. It was of a blond man in white and red robes, the figure behind him was ruined more, the painting had been torn at and slashed, leaving behind a pair of familiar green eyes. Ignis turned to find a set of drawers, the mirror that hung above it was shattered, fragmenting his reflection into pieces.Below the shattered mirror laid a small hand mirror; It was gold in colour, with a trio of black skulls placed just above the handle. Ignis dismissed it, turning to face the room once more. 

_What had caused that glow?_

The flash of red caught his eye again. 

It was coming from beneath a sheet, covering something on a small table beneath the window. Ignis made his way over, he took hold of the cloth, curiosity growing with every passing second, and pulled it off. 

There, beneath the cloth, in a dome shaped glass case, was a bright red rose that was glowing in the moonlight. 

Ignis gently lifted off the glass, placing it down on the floor beside him. 

A few of the rose's dead petals were already scattered onto the stand, and another was hanging loosely from it. 

Ignis brushed back a loose strand of hair from his forehead, and reached for the rose, fingers almost touching the thorn covered stem when a menacing shadow fell over him. 

" _What the Hell are you doing in here?!"_

Aranea jumped through the window and Ignis stumbled back as she replaced the jar over the rose.Aranea drew herself to full height, her wings opened and expanded, cutting off what little light there was from the room. 

Ignis tripped over his own feet, bringing up a hand to shield his face. 

Aranea let out a snarl, reaching for Ignis as she stepped forward, whether to shake him up and down like a ragdoll until he died, or to eat him, Ignis did not care to find out. He ducked beneath her arm, scrambling onto his hands and knees before he fled the room. He felt his glasses slip down the bridge of his nose, heard them clatter to the floor, but there was no time to turn back for them. Ignis ran through the castle in blind panic, shadows swirling and distorting. He ignored the calls of his name, and fled. 

Lost to time, Ignis found himself deep in the forest, crashing through brambles and trees alike. They tugged at his clothes, some tearing through the fabric, some scratching at his skin. His foot snagged on a gnarled root, and Ignis went sprawling into a snow covered clearing, pain laced up his ankle as he forced himself to his hands and knees to assess the situation. His hands were shaking, with fear or with the cold he wasn't quite sure anymore. 

' _Get it together Scientia. You've made a right mess of yourself and now are lost in these damned woods.'_

Ignis berated himself, he shifted his weight so he was sitting, and brushed away the snow and dirt that clung to his sleeves, doing his best to not think about the pain in his ankle. 

A low snarl from the bushes in front of him was the only warning he was no longer alone. Looking up, Ignis found himself surrounded. He was frozen, but not from the cold. 

He stared into the eyes of the very same Elder Coeurl that had attacked him as a child. 

Or _eye,_ the Courel's left eye was a milky white, with a jagged scar that ran over it. It had that scar already, the Courel also sported the scar that Dad had left it, a large slash over its muzzle, almost splitting its nose, the Courel's lip split too, drawn back into a predatory snarl. 

Drool spilt down from pristine fangs, deadly whiskers crackling with electricity. White fur matted with fresh blood. The Courel flicked out its tongue, running over its teeth, its deadly gaze fixed on Ignis. Ignis slowly took a step back, refusing to take his eyes off of the beast in front of him. 

There was a branch by his foot, but Ignis didn't dare reach for it. 

They all seemed to move at once. 

One leapt at him, latching onto the corner of his shirt and pulled him down. It dragged him backwards in the snow, Ignis twisted until he heard the fabric tear so he could roll away without being choked. Another latched onto his trouser leg, pulling him back toward the Elder Coeurl. Ignis scrambled for something to grab onto, the snow numbed his fingers, his face, it slipped down the back of his shirt as he was dragged along. 

The Coeurl eventually let go, leaving Ignis in the sights of the Elder. It snarled again, leaning back on its hind legs as it geared itself to jump. 

With a sharp hiss, the Elder Coeurl leapt into the air, straight toward Ignis. 

Ignis brought his hands up, shielding his face, when a shadow fell over him. 

Aranea had caught the beast mid-air, tossing it aside like it was effortless. But what truly caught Ignis off guard, was that she was hovering in the air, massive wings beating steadily, and an intense burning glare in her eyes. 

Aranea nimbly touched down beside Ignis, protectively curling her wings around him. 

There was a surprisingly gentle hand on his shoulder. "Stay down." Aranea said, she stood over him, claws and fangs extended. 

The Couerls charged. 

Aranea brought her arm up, guarding before one of them could attack her face. It ended up sinking its fangs into her forearm. Ignis lost sigh of her then, she was a blur amongst the shadows and trees. She seemed to move like she was one, Couerls barely kept up as she slashed and tore at them with her own claws and fangs. 

Ignis had the presence of mind to scramble out from beneath her and hid himself under nearby bushes. Everything was a blur, more so because Ignis realized he had lost his glasses when he was running form Aranea earlier. He spotted them not far from where he was, she must have brought them with her, crawling over to them he pulled them back on his face. There was a crash and a whimper in the field before him, he turned to look, surveying the damage done. 

The Courel's were mostly gone, those that survived limped away, whimpering with their tails between their legs. The Elder Courel lay in a heap, dead, or so Ignis presumed as it wasn't moving and didn't appear to be breathing. 

Deeming it safe enough given the quiet Ignis crawled out from the bushes. He shivered violently through his soaked clothes as he searched for Aranea. He spotted her, a wave of dread hit him like a sharp chocobo kick to the stomach, she lay unmoving on the ground. 

" _Aranea_?" Ignis dragged himself through the snow, shuffling on hands and knees. Ignis gently shook Aranea's shoulder. "Aranea, wake up-" 

Aranea let out a grunt, her eyes fluttered open, before heaving herself upright. "We need to get out here." 

"You're hurt." Ignis said. 

"So are you Specs." Aranea lifted her hand, tipping up Ignis's chin, wiping away the blood across his nose with her free hand. "Let's go take care of that pretty face of yours." 

"You first." 

\--- 

It was a struggle back to the castle, they supported each other and limped along the path, greeted halfway by Nyx and Libertus who practically carried them back. 

They'd set up in one of the larger parlour rooms, lamps and fireplace lit, with two steaming mugs on a small table between two armchairs. Aranea was sat in one of the arm chairs, her wings spread out either side, while Ignis had settled himself onto the floor. He'd changed out of his own tattered, snow- soaked clothes, and had a blanket tucked around his shoulders. 

There was a bowl of warm water beside him, using it to dip into as he cleaned up Aranea's wounds. He had hold of her arm, and dabbed at a particularly large bite mark. 

Aranea let out a pain yell, she bared her fangs and yanked her arm back. "Watch it Four-Eyes! That hurt!" 

"Honestly." Ignis huffed, and pulled her arm back toward him. "If you stayed still it wouldn't hurt." 

Aranea hissed again, trying to wrench her arm away. "Hate to break it to you for Four-Eyes, but if you hadn't run away, none of this would have happened! _Astrals,_ you're annoying." 

"Maybe if _you_ hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!" Ignis found himself yelling, despite the small crowd watching them. 

"Well _you_ shouldn't have been in the West Wing." Aranea countered. "You got an issue with authority or somethin', pretty boy? 

"You think I'm pretty now? Strange, I could have sworn you said I was annoying." Ignis countered, but found that the anger seeped out of him like a deflating balloon. 

Aranea rolled her eyes. "Didn't tell you that you were pretty beforehand because I didn't wanna fuel your clearly massive ego." 

Ignis let out a frustrated sigh, blowing the loose strand of hair from his face. "You really ought to learn to control your temper." 

"Sure. Learn to stop being so uptight and I'll think about it, _jerk_ " 

"Language!" Ignis scolded. 

"Language?" Aranea repeated. "I'm not a kid." 

"My apologies." Ignis said. "It's become somewhat of a habit. I looked after the children at the orphanage, and it just slipped out." 

"Aww you're a teacher?" Aranea laughed. "You don't scare the kids with that permanent grumpy face on you?" 

Ignis huffed again. He put the cloth down into the bowl, and started to wrap Aranea's arm in clean bandages. 

"You don't have to do that you know." Aranea said. "It will heal on its own." 

"While that may be the case, I've found it's better to take immediate care before any infection has a chance to set in." Ignis said. 

Aranea laughed, making her fangs more prominent. "Oh no. An infected bite, whatever will I do." 

Ignis willed himself not to jump. Instead, he leant up, the blanket slipping off his shoulders, and wiped at a cut on her forehead with the cloth. "One can never be too careful." 

The two sat in silence as Ignis continued to bandage her wounds, the crackling fire and the hushed whispers of the others served as background noise. 

"Thank you." Ignis said eventually. "For saving my life." 

Aranea stared at him for a moment, intense gaze softening for a moment. "You're welcome. Besides, I'm pretty sure if I let Talcott's new best friend die the kid would stop talking to me." 

Ignis stifled a laugh. "It's nice to see that someone clearly cares around here." He finished wrapping her bandages, and sat back admiring his handiwork. "There. All cleaned up." 

Aranea trailed her fingers along the bandages. "Not bad, Specs. Now you." 

"I'm fine. There's no need to-" 

"I saw you limping on our way back." Aranea jerked her head toward the others. "Pretty sure they did too. At least, let me take a little look?" 

"Very well. If you must."

\--- 

"Will you answer me now?” Ignis asked as he was escorted back to his room by Nyx and Lunafreya. “How did you all become daemons?" 

“Sure ask a lot of questions, don’t you Specs?” Nyx answered. “To answer your question, it was a curse.”  
  
“A curse?” 

“There was a powerful enchanter that appeared here." Lunafreya said. "We had all gathered for a celebration. Aranea had been on edge all night. That is when _he_ appeared, the enchanter disguised as a beggar. He sought shelter, but Aranea refused him entry. She did not trust him. Once again, he asked for shelter, and Aranea wouldn't allow him in. That is when he unleashed the curse on us all.” 

“What of the rose?” ignis asked. "It's important isn't it?" 

"The rose acts as our time limit. We have until the last petal falls.” Nyx answered. 

“What happens then?” 

“The curse will be permanent: Our transformation into daemons will be complete and permanent." Lunafreya said. 

Ignis frowned. "I want to help. There must be a way to lift the curse." 

Lunafreya and Nyx shared a look. 

"It is a kind offer Ignis, but worry not." Lunafreya said with a shake of her head. "This is our burden, and it is something we will figure out." 

\---

Almost a week had passed since that night. Both of them recovering, they'd often had dinner together, some with the others present, some with just the two of them. Aranea had found herself growing more attached to him as the days went on, whether it was the snarky remarks, or the incredibly bad puns, she couldn't tell.

"I want to do something nice for him." She said. 

Herself, Gladio, Ravus and Iris watched as Ignis taught Talcott how to play the piano. 

"What _can I do?"_ she muttered mostly to herself. 

"There is the usual." Ravus said, lifting a hand to list off. "Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep…" 

" _Boring! A_ nd _not_ helpful. At all. _"_ Iris sang. "It's gotta be something special! Something that really captures Ignis's attention." 

Gladio sat up straight, snapping his fingers together. "I have an idea." 

\--- 

Aranea tugged on Ignis's hands, leading him through a hallway. "There's something I wanna show you Specs." She said once they'd gotten to a large set of double doors. "You have to close your eyes first." 

Ignis raised an eyebrow. "Really now?" 

"Yeah really." Aranea put her hands on her hips, tail flicking anxiously from side to side. "It's a surprise. You _do_ know what a surprise is right? Or does that word not exist in your extensive vocabulary." 

Ignis rolled his eyes. "As you wish, _princess."_ He complied, and shut his eyes. 

Aranea pushed open the doors, and took hold of Ignis's hands again, pulling him into the room. It was the grand library of the castle and Aranea was nearly buzzing, knowing how much Ignis liked to read and learn, she was sure this would be the best surprise for him; she’d have to thank Gladio later. 

There were two floors to the library. Spiral staircases on either side of the room; Vaulted ceilings and double windows hidden behind dark curtains that opened out onto a balcony with a view of the forest. 

"May I open them now?" 

"No, not yet. Just wait here." 

Aranea walked away from him, she flapped her wings, flying up to draw back the curtains, brilliant sunlight spilled into the room. 

Ignis flinched as the light hit his face. "Now can I open them?" 

Aranea landed back in front of him, she flapped her wings again, sending a gust of wind at Ignis's face, dismantling his carefully crafted hair-do. "Alright. Now." 

Ignis opened his eyes and gasped. "This place is incredible. I've never seen anything like it before." 

"Does that mean you like it?" 

Ignis turned to Aranea. "It's wonderful. Thank you, for showing me this place, but why-" 

Aranea shrugged. "It's not like anyone was in here. You can use this place as much as you like." She said, turning to leave. 

"Wait!" Ignis caught her arm. "Join me." 

"Join you?" Aranea asked. "You want me to stay here?" 

"I know it may not seem like it but I do enjoy your company." Ignis said. 

"Oh yeah? What is it? My winning personality or my enchanting good looks?" Aranea laughed batting her eyelashes at him. 

"Perhaps both." Ignis said, face turning a light shade of pink. 

" _Wait what_?" 

"Show me around won't you?" Ignis said, ignoring her. "What exactly is in here?" 

"Anything you want. We have ancient history, class literature-" Aranea said. "We have scripts dating back to Ancient Solheim, Grimores from Galah-" 

" _The Opera Ghost!"_ Ignis pulled out a thick black book, its golden decals looked in near perfect condition. "This is the first edition." 

Aranea peered down over Ignis's shoulder. "Oh. Yeah. _That."_

"What's with that tone?" 

" _The Opera Ghost_ is such a dumb story. Erik is such an awful character! And Christine deserved better." 

" _The Opera Ghost_ happens to be one of my favourites. It's a beautifully tragic story." Ignis said. 

"Oh, hon." Aranea laughed. "If you think that _The Opera Ghost_ is a beautiful love story, I think you've got some issues to work out." 

"I never said it was a beautiful love story!" Ignis spluttered. "I said it was a _beautifully tragic_ story." Ignis even put air quotes around beautifully tragic to get his point across. 

"Uh huh. Sure." Aranea waved him off, and picked up a dusty blue book, spine worn and cracked slightly. "Here. If you want something actually good to read, take this." 

"I don't know if I should." Ignis said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You insult me and my favourite book, how do I know that it isn't just as bad as you." 

"Insult me all you want short-stack-" Aranea said, waving the book in his face. 

"You're almost seven - foot tall, _anyone_ would look short next to you." 

"Yeah-yeah. Anyway." Aranea gently pushed him down into the chaise lounge by the balcony, and handed him the book. "This book is one of the best _ever_ written. _Hawkins : Tale of the Space Treasure_ has everything you need. Pirates, adventure _and_ outerworld travel." 

Ignis hummed for a moment, thoughtfully turning the book over in his hands. "I suppose I could give it a go." 

Aranea sat down, and swung her legs up, resting her feet in Ignis's lap. 

Ignis raised a brow. "Do you mind?" 

Aranea waved her hand. "Not at all. Go on." 

"You want me to read to you?" 

"That _is_ what I'm suggesting, yeah. Besides, you get to listen to yourself talk. You'll love it." 

"Are you going to keep insulting me? Or do you want me to read to you." 

"Read it Specs." 

"Now, what's the magic word?' 

"Pretty please with cherries on top?" Aranea batted her eyes and held her face in her hands as daintily as she could. 

Ignis rolled his eyes and felt a flush creep it’s way up his neck. "Again, the sarcasm isn't appreciated but the sentiment is there." He turned the book to the first page. 

"Hey Specs. I have to ask, is this all you do?" Aranea asked. "Just, sit and read all day?" 

Ignis sighed. "Truth be told there isn't much to do back home. I try to teach the young ones at the orphanage, but it usually doesn't end well." 

"Why's that?" 

"Despite my parents being absolutely adored by everyone, people don't seem to like me very much. They think I'm stuck up and rude, and….and they don't want the others to turn out like me." 

"If you ask me they're missing out." Aranea said. "I think you're a great guy. Except for when you're being annoying." 

"I'm flattered." Ignis laughed. "The same goes for you." 

Aranea felt her heart leap into her throat. 

_'Nope. Nope_ ,' she thought. ' _Shoving that feeling waaayy down.'_

Aranea shoved his shoulder. "Get on with it already." She shuffled forwards, leaning more of her legs into his lap. 

Ignis waited for her to settle, before resting the book atop her knees. He cleared his throat, and started to read : 

" _On the clearest of nights when the winds of the Etherium were calm and peaceful, the great merchant ships with their cargoes of Arcturian sura crystals felt safe and secure. Little did they suspect that they were pursued by pirates. And the most feared of all these pirates, was the notorious Captain Nathaniel Flint."_

\---

Aranea pushed open the doors to the library, she'd left Ignis a few hours ago, helping the others with a small hunt. "Hey Specs? Nyx told me to find out what you wanted for-"

 ****

Ignis was stretched out on the chaise lounge, head back at an awkward angle, mouth open slightly as he softly snored away. He had the copy of _Hawkins : Tale of the Space Treasure_ open on his chest, hand loosely laying on top of it. Ignis's glasses were tilted to one side, and she plucked them from his face before they could break. Without them, he looked younger, more like his own age. The sharp lines and edges to his face didn't seem quite so harsh. 

Her body seemed to move before her mind reacted. Aranea placed her hand beneath Ignis's head, gently lifting and readjusting him so he was laying down properly on one of the small pillows. She took the book from him, marking the page before placing it down on the floor, and gently rested the glasses on top; Aranea picked up a thin blanket and placed it over him. She reached for his face again, lightly tracing her fingers across his cheek, and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind his ear. 

She immediately withdrew her hand as Ignis shifted in his sleep, letting out a soft sigh and continued to sleep. 

She stepped back, heart pounding in her chest. 

She had never cared for anyone the way she did Ignis. 

He was something else. Something special. 

Her heart raced everytime she looked at him, and when he laughed she had butterflies. 

Aranea shook her head, she turned on her heel and started to leave the library. Falling for Ignis was dangerous. 

She stopped short of the doors, turning her head back. "Sweet dreams Ignis." She said, before hastily leaving. 

Back in the library, Ignis opened his eyes. 

\--- 

As the days went on, Ignis found himself in the library more and more often. Aranea joined him for the remainder of the time that he was reading _Hawkins : Tale of the Space Treasure_ , and she dropped in every so often he found himself absorbed in a new book. 

Recently, he'd been reading to Talcott, the young boy cuddled up into Ignis's side as he read. The most recent was _The Courel in the Hat._ A whimsical rhyming book that Talcott had plucked from one of the more hidden shelves. Talcott had come running over with the newest book, _The Oracle Bride,_ a white faux leather bound book, with silvery decals detailing it. Talcott jumped up onto Ignis's lap, tail curled up around Ignis's arm. With one hand, Ignis gently sifted through Talcott's hair, the other held open the book. Iris had also joined them for _The Oracle Bride,_ stating that she'd never had a chance to read it before she arrived at the castle, and leaned into Ignis's other side to listen. 

_"The horse's name was "Horse" (Buttercup was never long on imagination)and it came when she called it, went where she steered it, and did what she told it to. The farm boy did what she told him too. Actually, he was more a young man now, but he had been a farm boy when, orphaned, he had come to work for her father, and Buttercup referred to him that way still. "Farm Boy, fetch me this";_

_"Get me that, Farm Boy—quickly, lazy thing, trot now or I'll tell Father."_

_"As you wish." That was all he ever answered. "As you wish." Fetch that, Farm Boy. "As you wish." Dry this, Farm Boy. "As you wish." He lived in a hovel out near the_

_animals and, according to Buttercup's mother, he kept it clean. He even read when he had candles-"_

He read _The Oracle Bride_ to the two of them for a week, putting on voices and accents for all the various characters, Talcott _ooohed_ and _aahhed_ and gasped at all the right moments, and Iris found herself drawn to Westly and Buttercup. 

Aranea watched every so often, and felt her heart swell each time she did. 


	5. Chapter 5

It took Cor just over two weeks to recover, and even then he still wasn't fully better. Horus had also practically run himself ragged. Between organising several search parties with the townsfolk, and making sure that Cor was receiving the most proper medicinal care, he'd run himself into near exhaustion. 

For the past three days Horus had led the search parties, leaving at the light of Dawn and returning at Dusk. Cor felt awful that he wasn't there to help, but he consoled his husband as he cried, held his hand and promised to be better and get out to finding Ignis as soon as he was able. He snuck out in the dead of night, doing his best to not wake Horus, unless he wanted to receive a lengthy scolding for leaving while he was still sick.

Cor met with Uldor and Loqi at the town's edge, three chocobos in tow. "I'm grateful for the two of you accompanying me." 

"Of course." Uldor said. "Anything for a dear friend." 

Cor nodded in response, before heading into the forest. "We should move quickly. I don't want Ignis trapped there any longer." 

"Understood." Uldor gestured for Loqi, who brought forward the birds. 

They climbed up, and ventured into the forest with Cor at the lead. 

"Cor!" Uldor called out. "Are you sure this is the right way? Perhaps we should turn back-" 

"No! This is the way. I'm sure of it." 

"There is another storm rolling in." Uldor huffed. "Now, I don't know about you but-" 

"There." Cor cut him off, pointing to a thick patch of trees. "The way to the castle is through there." 

"There's no path Cor." Uldor practically growled at Cor, he was beyond annoyed at being dragged out so late at night and into the forest with seemingly no path in sight. 

"There was a path here." Cor jumped down from his bird. "Im sure of it. But the trees, they had fallen. There's a path behind them. I know it. The castle is this way. Let's move." 

Uldor let out a sigh of disgust, and jumped off of his chocobo. "I've had quite enough of this game of yours. Where is Ignis?"

"The daemons have him prisoner. I told you already." 

"You really expect me to believe your story? There is no such thing as enchanted castles and magic daemons." Uldor said. "We are turning back.  _ Now."  _

Cor turned to face him. Eyes set in a steely glare. "Exactly who do you think you are to tell me what to do?"

"A concerned friend. Now, let us turn back. I'm sure Ignis has returned from wherever he ran off to." 

"If you don't believe me, then why exactly did you come and offer your assistance?" 

"I came along to keep you from ruining my plans you utter fool-" 

"Temper Uldor-" Loqi warned. 

"Right. Of course, forgive me Cor. After all, that's no way to talk to me future father-in-law." 

"Future father-in-law?" Cor scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You will  _ never  _ marry my son." 

Uldor sighed. "This does put a damper on my plans. I hoped it wouldn't come to this." 

Cor, still sluggish from his illness, failed to register Uldor, club in hand, swinging up his arm, knocking Cor out cold. 

"If he won't help me then he is only in my way." Uldor said, making his way back to his chocobo. "Come Loqi, the Courel's will finish him off. And grab that damn bird too." 

Loqi glanced over at Cor's unconscious form on the ground. He twisted his fingers around the chocobo's reins, and pulled it toward his own bird. 

He saddled up onto his Chocobo, following close behind Uldor, guiding the spare bird along with them. 


	6. Chapter 6

Aranea pushed open the doors, and gestured to the room with a lazy wave. "This is the weapons room. Also doubles down as the training room. We usually keep it locked though." 

"It's very impressive." Ignis said, taking in the side of the dozens of swords lined up on the wall. 

While he'd never used them himself, he  _ could  _ identify each one of them ; 

There were rows of broadswords, shields, daggers, and spears on the wall, there was even a trident on its own podium. Next to that, a beautifully crafted black sword, with an equally intricate handle. And in a small open cabinet, a collection of various firearms. 

He was drawn to one of spears, running his hand along the handle. "Are they all yours?" 

"No." Aranea said. "A few of the spears are mine. Trident's Luna's. That's Noctis's-" she pointed at the black sword. "The firearms are blondies." 

"Interesting." Ignis pulled his hand away from them. "Why was it locked?" 

"Just in case someone tries to break in." Aranea said. "Don't want any accidents you know." 

"I see." Ignis said, before turning his attention back toward the lances. "You said those were yours?" 

"Yeah. I'm pretty good with them if I do say so myself." Aranea said, placing her hands on her hip. "What about you?" 

"Hm?" 

"That fancy katana of yours you got in your room?" Aranea asked. "You know how to use it right?" 

"Ah." Ignis's face flushed a light pink. "Only in theory I'm afraid. I've never really fought with a weapon before." After a moment he added “The katana is my dad’s, he’s a master with the blade.”

"What do you mean by  _ “only in theory” _ ?" Aranea put quotes around that for emphis.

"Well. I know how to fight in theory." Ignis said. "I've studied it." 

"So, all that talk about you being able to prove yourself, and that you were ready to face the outside was just for show?" 

Ignis frowned. "Hm. I hardly imagine it's difficult.  _ You  _ seem to manage just fine." 

Aranea huffed out a laugh. "Alright Four-Eyes. Come on. Let's see if you can put your gil where that smart-ass mouth of yours is." 

Ignis blinked at her. "Beg your pardon?" 

Aranea walked over to the lances, plucking two wooden ones off of the wall. "Come on handsome." She said throwing it to him. "Let's see what you got." 

"Very well." Ignis shed his waistcoat and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

Ignis stood with his feet braced back straight, and set his hands close together on the lower end of the polearm.

Aranea immediately laughed at him. "Okay wow you  _ are _ really bad at this." 

"I'm trying! This is exactly how it's explained in the book!" Ignis said. He most certainly  _ did not  _ whine thank you very much. "What am I doing wrong then?" 

Aranea laughed again. "Aww is someone bitter they aren't perfect?" 

"Are you going to continue laughing at me or are you going to help?" 

"Okay first, that stance of yours is all off." Aranea said. She took hold of the other end of the polearm, and yanked. 

Ignis stumbled forward, finding himself almost nose to nose with Aranea. 

"You're unbalanced." Aranea said, dropping her own polearm. "You need to find your footing. Put your feet here." 

Aranea circled behind him, her hands on top of his. "You're also holding this too far back. You haven't got enough control over where the tip of it will go." She slid one of his hands further up. "Here, you'll be able to hold this better. And you'll have more control." 

Ignis felt his face flush,  _ by the Astrals _ he was grateful Aranea couldn't see his face. He was  _ sure  _ he was bright red. 

Aranea, seemingly oblivious to it all, continued to adjust Ignis's arms and legs. "Here, put one foot in front of the other, point the front foot forward, and this back one needs to point out to the side." 

"I see." Ignis said, his voice sounding slightly strangled. 

_ 'Good Gods Scientia, get it together' _

Aranea stepped back, and moved to stand back in front of him. 

"We're gonna take it nice and easy Four-Eyes. Just watch what I do." Aranea slipped her foot under the polearm and lifted. She caught the polearm in mid-air and twirled it. 

Ignis found himself watching, open-mouthed. 

"Keep training under me and you'll be a pro in no time." Aranea winked. "First up, basic strikes. Follow my lead." 

Aranea shows him how to properly use the polearm, showing him where and how to land strikes and swings. She corrected his hands as needed, putting hers over his each time. They work at it a while, a light sheen of sweat plastered strands of Ignis's hair to his forehead, and he feels it trickle down his back. 

"Not bad Specs." Aranea announced. "Now, come at me."

"What?" 

"Come on. Show me if you've learned anything. I wanna know if you're actually smart or if that pretty face of yours is just for show." 

Ignis huffed. "Very well." 

Ignis charged forward, mimicking what Aranea had shown him, she had blocked his attacks with ease, wacking his hands several times and threw him back a few steps. 

"My turn." Aranea smirked. 

She charged, Ignis lifted the polearm, blocking her attacks, but his fingers ended up being crushed in the process. It went on for a few more moments, Ignis found himself being pushed back as Aranea advanced. Aranea swept her polearm beneath his feet, knocking him off balance, he fell back, the wind briefly knocked out of him. 

As Ignis sat up, Aranea tipped up his chin with the tip of the polearm exposing his throat. 

"I  _ win."  _ Aranea said, her eyes glinting, chest heaving slightly. 

"I will say I can't argue with you there." Ignis extended a hand, allowing Aranea to pull him upright. He retrieved his polearm, and bowed. "I know when I'm beaten,  _ love. _

" _ Love?"  _ Aranea echoed. "Who are you calling-" 

Ignis swept the staff forward, hooking it around the back of Aranea's leg, and pulled.

Aranea crashed to the floor, the polearm fell from her hand, and rolled across the floor. 

Ignis stood above her, the tip of his pole arm hovering above her chest. "It appears as though  _ I win _ ." 

Aranea looked up at him, winded slightly. "Not bad Four-Eyes. Seems like you're pretty light on your feet." 

"And it seems I have swept you off yours,  _ princess."  _ Ignis mocked, he twirled the polearm in his hand, but over estimated the turn coming full circle, and ended up whacking himself in the face. Aranea let out a strangled sound as she tried to contain her laughter, she ended up in a fit of laughter as Ignis's face turned a bright shade pink. 

"It's not funny!" Ignis huffed, gingerly rubbing his forehead. 

"It's a little funny." Aranea laughed as she got to her feet. "Stay still let me take a look." 

She cupped his face in her hands, peering down at him. Ignis lowered his gaze, avoiding Aranea's eyes. His own dropped down to her jaw, it was sharp like glass, but had a smooth aura about it. He willed himself to look higher, noting equally sharp eyebrows and a high brow. Ignis found himself staring, thinking about how easy it would be to reach up on his tiptoes to place a kiss between her brows. 

Aranea brushed her fingers over Ignis's forehead, through strands of his hair to check for any signs of a wound. 

Their eyes met briefly as he glanced up at her. At first glance, Ignis's eyes were the colour of seaglass, but this close, there were tiny flecks of emerald. They were inquisitive and curious, and yet sharp and deadly. Aranea could see herself getting lost in them. 

She dropped her hands, and stepped back. "All good to me Four-Eyes. You didn't hurt yourself too badly." 

"What a relief." Ignis answered. He raised a hand to his chin, and posed there for a moment as if in thought. "However, mind if I suggest something that's less likely to cause us both harm?" 

"Oh?" Aranea crossed her arms. "What exactly do you have in mind?" 

"Dancing" 

"Dancing." Aranea repeated. "You want to dance?" 

"I don't see why not. There  _ are  _ ballrooms here. You said so yourself." Ignis said. 

"They haven't been used in years, they're probably really dirty-" 

Ignis put the two wooden polearms back onto the wall, and collected his waistcoat. "Well then, we'd better get a move on hadn't we-" 

"Huh?" 

"The ballroom isn't going to clean itself." He said, holding his hand out to her. "Lets go- and the others lingering outside the door can help too." 

There was a crash from outside, a mix of Gladio and Noctis cursing at one another, and Prompto's loud whispers of : 

" _ Shh!"  _

Aranea took Ignis's hand, allowing herself to be led along. Ignis pulled open the door, and waved his hand at the guilty party who'd been eavesdropping on them. 

"Come along you three. The task will go much quicker if we all work together." 

"Sure thing Igster!" Prompto said, his eyes were glued directly to Aranea and Ignis's joint hands, a wide grin blooming on his face. "Whatever you need!" 

Ignis was oblivious to it all. "Excellent. We'll need several dusters, along with a bucket and a mop." 

"We can get that for you." Noct said, elbowing Gladio in the side. "You two go on ahead." 

Gladio wiggled his eyebrows. "Yeah. We'll meet you there." 

"Good. Do try to be quick. We won't be able to get much done without you." 

Aranea could only briefly glance back at the other's smug grins as Ignis tugged her along toward the ballroom. 

They barely turned the corner when she heard them cheering. 

\---

"This is stupid." Aranea huffed, she sat with her arms crossed in front of the mirror in Lunafreya's room, her tail flicking from side to side. "Remind me why I let him talk me into this?" 

"It will be fun." Lunafreya replied, brushing through the freshly washed-silky strands of Aranea's hair. "This will give you and Ignis a chance to know each other better." She paused, glancing in the mirror to meet Aranea's eyes. 

"Definitely!" Iris added, she handed Lunafreya something, what it was Aranea couldn't see. "You two are adorable together. If Ignis hasn't realised he's in love with you yet, he's about to tonight!" 

"Me putting on a fancy dress isn't exactly going to make Ignis fall for me." Aranea said. 

"He already has!" Iris argued. "He just has to realise it. Trust us!" 

Lunafreya nodded. "I must agree with Iris. You have already admitted your feelings to us about Ignis, it only needs you to confess to him, and now for him to return those feelings." She said. "I do not mean to push you, but there are only a handful of petals left. If not tonight then-" 

"I know." Aranea cut her off. "I…I don't know how to do this. If I mess up it's over for everyone. Four-Eyes isn't so bad to be around, he's nice, if it goes wrong, I just don't want him to be around when it happens." 

"It is a matter of time." Lunafreya reassured. 

"Time we don't have." 

"You care for him don't you?" Iris asked. 

"More than anything." 

"Then have faith." Lunafreya said, cupping Aranea's face in her hands. "I believe in the two of you. Now." She let go of Aranea, and turned her around in the chair to face the mirror. 

Lunafreya had altered one of her old dresses ; it was royal purple, with a sweetheart neckline, loose puffy chiffon sleeves, gathered into a delicate cuff at her wrist. As Aranea stood, the dress reached the floor, and there was a split just above her knee. 

Aranea's hair was up into a bun, tiny chains and jewellery twisted into it, wrapped around her horns, and a delicate crystal crown nestled atop her head, with more chains dangling and looping down and across her forehead.

The cut of the dress allowed her wings to move more freely, Aranea turned in the mirror to find that Lunafreya and Iris had decorated the tips of them too, more chains had been carefully and painstakingly looped around them. 

" _ Wow _ ." 

"Do you like it?" 

"I do. Thank you, both of you. Really." 

Lunafreya beamed. "Wonderful." 

Iris let out a tiny squeal of happiness. "I can't wait to see the look on Ignis's face!" 

\---

They'd ushered him into the open foyer, insisting that Ignis wait at the bottom of the stairs for Aranea, so that the two of them could walk to dinner together. 

Ignis was dressed in one of Prompto's old suits, dark grey fitted trousers tucked into knee high black boots. 

His outer jacket and waistcoat, also dark grey, is intricately detailed with swirling golden embroidery. White lace cuffs poked out from his outer jacket sleeves, and a silken white ascot tie held in place by a silver skull pin; Hands clad in silver gloves. 

(Talcott had been the one to choose his outfit, he said it made Ignis look like a prince!) 

His hair was swept away from his face, styled neatly into a pompadour, his face free from his glasses. He'd narrowly avoid both Noctis and Prompto wrestling to put a thin silver circlet on his head, but he'd been saved by Gladio. 

He'd left the East Wing, waiting patiently in the foyer, when he'd heard hushed voices from the coming from the West Wing. Ignis's heart leapt into his throat, he couldn't help the small gasp that escaped as he laid eyes on Aranea. There was an overwhelming warm feeling blooming in his chest. It was like everything, everyone around him, had stopped. 

Except her. 

Aranea’s heart was pounding faster than a chocobo galloping at full speed. She did her best not to puncture the dress within her death grasp as she descended the stairs. She was beyond sure that if she stood still for more then a second her knees would start to knock together. She scoffed at herself just from the thought

“ _ What are you? A new born chocobo? Get it together!”  _

She heard a soft gasp and looked up to find Ignis in one of Prompto’s old Princely regiments and he looked as if  _ he  _ were the prince. His hair was swept back off his forehead; his eyes shining like emeralds. The suit itself was remarkable, but he could have been wearing a paper bag and she was sure she still would have stopped dead to stare at him. As she descended the last of the stairs and came up to Ignis she smiled softly, the smile turning into a smirk as his face remained the same. 

"What?" Aranea asked. "What's that look for?" 

Ignis shook his head. "Nothing you look… beautiful." 

Aranea felt her face grow warm. "Thank you. You clean up nice too. You don't look like a stuffy librarian anymore." 

Ignis brought his hand to his mouth and laughed. "Thank you. I must say, that crown of yours is quite exquisite. " 

Ignis brought his hand to his mouth and laughed. "I could say the same for you. That crown of yours is quite exquisite. Very princess-like." 

"It is Luna's." Aranea said. "No matching one for you, your highness?" 

"Astrals no." Ignis laughed again. "But, to their credit, Noctis and Prompto did try their best. This was Gladio's handiwork." He said, gesturing to his hair. 

"Fancy. But not quite right-." Aranea said, she reached forward for Ignis's hair. 

"What are you-" 

"Don't worry about it." Aranea ran her hand through it, gently pulling his hair from the carefully styled pompadour, strands of hair fell out from it, but seemingly fell into the perfect place as they dangled over his forehead. "There. Much better." 

"If you say so, however I'm afraid you've ruined all of Gladio's hard work." 

"If he's got an issue, he's more than welcome to take it up with me." 

Ignis laughed again. "Very well. I leave it to you." He stepped back, and bowed. "Well, Lady Aranea, would you do me the honour of coming to dinner with me?" 

Aranea let out a snort, she gave a curtsey. "It would be my pleasure, Lord Ignis." She mocked. 

\--- 

They sat by each other, dinner brought to them by Crowe and Libertus, despite Ignis's protests. 

"You two kids have fun." Crowe said with a wink. "Nyx cooked up something real special." 

"Please there is no need for all this fuss." Ignis sighed. "I told you I could have helped." 

"Like I told you." Crowe lightly punched his arm. "This is supposed to be a special night for the two of you." 

"Come on Four-Eyes you can turn that brain of yours off for one day." Aranea teased. 

"Very well." Ignis nodded, and the two of them tucked into the small soup dish in front of them. 

They chatted together, time flying by, dishes coming in and out of the room. Ignis barely noticed the time speeding by, completely captured by Aranea's company; in fact, he only did notice by the time dessert was served. 

"What's this?" Aranea asked as Crowe set down the dish. 

It was a small circular tart, built with pastry around the sides and top, with a light dusting of icing sugar along it. 

"Why don't you ask old Specs here." Crowe grinned. "He's the one that made them." 

"You did?" Aranea turned to him. "Really?" 

"Yes?" Ignis's face flushed pink. "As a thank you, for teaching me." 

Aranea studied him for a moment, before turning her attention back to the pastry. "What's in it?" 

"Ulwatt berries and sweet potato." Ignis answered. 

"Huh. Interesting." Aranea picked up the tart, and bit into it. The berries were sweet, with a hint of a sour undertone - balanced out by the less obvious sweetness of the potato. "This is really good. You sure you're not some kind of chef?" 

"No I'm not much of a cook." Ignis said. "My father taught me this recipe. He said it had been passed down to him by his father. 

"Family recipe huh. It's great. You should be proud." 

Ignis brought his hand to his mouth, letting out a nervous chuckle. "You're far too kind." 

"I'm serious! This is amazing. You should open a tavern or something." 

“I don’t believe I would enjoy such a thing." Ignis said. "I don't enjoy cooking, but I like to see the look on people's faces when I make something they enjoy. Not to mention, I'd be trapped running the place." 

"What would you want to do?" Aranea asked. "If you weren't here? If you didn't have any obligations at home. What would you do?" 

"I would want to explore.' Ignis said. "There's so much out there, so much to learn and discover, it would truly be an adventure." 

"An adventure huh? Interesting." 

"I apologise if I've brought the mood down." 

Aranea shook her head. "You didn't. It was surprising, is all. But then again, you clearly have an issue with authority so I'm not surprised." 

Ignis laughed, Aranea's heart fluttered in her chest. 

"Well then." He said. "I can't have you exposing my secrets like this. It simply won't do." 

"Oh? And what's your plan for that." 

"That… is for me to know, and for you to find out later." 

Aranea laughed, wiping her hands on a napkin as she finished the tart. "That was amazing." 

"Far too kind." Ignis said. The pink blush on his face returning. "Thank you for the wonderful dinner." 

Aranea nodded. "Thank you to you too, but the night's not over yet right?" 

"Of course not! You still owe me a dance." Ignis answered. 

"Well then Four-Eyes?" Aranea stood up, and held her hand out to Ignis. "Let's go." 

They walked arm in arm to the ballroom, Ignis laughing at the crude jokes Aranea had made until they reached the ballroom and pushed open the double doors. It gleamed and shined where it had been scrubbed clean and polished by them earlier in the day. Ignis and Aranea walked into the centre of the ballroom, her dress sparkling beneath the giant chandelier 

Noctis sat down at the piano, softly playing, Lunafreya sat beside him, adding in a higher melody. 

“Come on Specs. Let's get to dancing already.” Aranea pulled him into the centre of the ballroom. 

“Do you know how?” 

“I've watched Noctis and Luna dancing, and when we used to throw parties. But i've never danced myself” 

Ignis smiled at her. “Well, allow me to be the teacher this time.” 

He tugged Aranea close, lifting her right hand to put on his shoulder, he placed his left on the small of her back. Ignis linked their free hands together, lifting them to about shoulder height. “It's fairly simple. For a waltz we count on a beat of three, It looks better with a rise and fall motion, we lower on the counts of one and three, and rise on two.”

“Right...:” Aranea blinked at him. “Then what?” 

“Now, Ignis said. “The waltz is a travelling dance, but to begin, we will learn the basic box step. Move back with your right foot, side with the left, close your right foot to your left, then forward with the left, step to the side with the right foot, and then close your left foot to the right.” 

Aranea muttered the steps over to herself as they moved, accidentally treading on Ignis's foot a few several times. "Sorry." She said with a wince. 

Ignis shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry for." He said. "You're doing incredibly well. Far better than I." 

"Really?" 

"Yes." Ignis said. "I kept stepping on my dance partner's feet, so much so they refused to dance with me." 

"Well that certainly makes me feel better." Aranea snickered 

Ignis smiled. "I think you may have the hang of it.  _ One _ , two,  _ three. One,  _ two,  _ three. One,  _ two,  _ three." _ He counted. "I believe we can start moving now. It is similar to before, with some slight differences. Step back with your side, to the side with your left, then close your right to your left, step back with the left, step to the side with the right, and then close your right to your left." 

They slowly began to move in a wide arc around the ballroom. Aranea was torn between staring down at her feet to watch her steps, or staring at Ignis's face. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Iris and Talcott high-five from their not so discreet hiding place in the ballroom. 

"I do believe you're getting the hang of it." Ignis said. "Now, try looking up." 

"If I step on your feet it's going to be your fault." Aranea looked up, finding herself immediately drawn to his nose. 

There was a small faint scar across the bridge of the small bump on his nose, and a smattering of light freckles across his nose from one end of his face to the other. He has random dotted beauty marks scattered about, and faint acne scars too. 

Ignis's heart pounded in his chest. Aranea's face was mere inches away from his own. 

Her enchanting eyes the colour of seafoam, but flecked with yellow. The crystals on her crown reflected the twinkling lights of the ballroom, creating tiny rainbows across her skin, drowning out the harsh dark veins. 

He could feel the warmth from her hands beneath his gloves, and pulled her in closer to him. Ignis tilted his face up to her, and he could have sworn Aranea leant in, closer, closer and-

An awful sound emitted from the piano, Ignis glanced over to see Noctis hunched over, his back to them. 

Lunafreya knelt beside him, a slightly frantic look to her face. 

"Is everything all right?" Ignis called out. He let go of Aranea, attempting to make his way over, but Aranea caught his arm. "Let me-" 

"No. It's...Best if you let them deal with it." Aranea said. A wave of sadness seemed to wash over her. "Trust me." 

"It's okay Specs. I'm alright." Noctis said, he stood up, hiding his hand beneath his jacket, his voice sounded raspy - like he hadn't spoken for years. "It happens sometimes. Don't worry. Just go have fun." 

Ignis watched the two of them hobble away, retreating from the ballroom. 

Aranea led him to the far end of the ballroom, and opened the high windows that led to the balcony overlooking the gardens.

"The curse you're all under." Ignis said once they were outside. "It's getting stronger isn't it?" 

"Yes." Aranea answered. "It is." 

"There  _ must  _ be something,  _ anything  _ I can do to help." 

"It's-Its a difficult situation we're in." Aranea said. "I can't really explain to you." 

Ignis huffed. "How am I supposed to just sit by while you are all in pain?" 

Guilt bubbled in the pit of Aranea's stomach. She couldn't exactly tell Ignis that he had to fall in love with her. She turned to watch him, Ignis was staring out over at the gardens. 

"Hey- Ig-" Aranea paused, catching herself. "Specs, are you happy here?" 

"Pardon?" 

"Do you...like it? Here? With me- _ with us _ ?" Aranea corrected. 

Dammit why was she so nervous? 

"I suppose I do." Ignis eventually answered. "I've grown rather fond of you all." 

"You suppose?" She repeated. 

Ignis let out a small sigh. "I only wish I could see my parents again." He looked out over the gardens. "I know that it's impossible. But it is the one thing I wish for." 

Aranea glanced away from him, hand running over a patch of ivy that wound its way around the balcony, when a sudden thought popped into her head. "There is a way." 

She took hold of his hand, pulling him along toward the West Wing, and into her quarters. Aranea let go of his hand, and picked up the small ornately decorated hand mirror. "Here. This mirror will show you anything you want."

Ignis eyed her warily, but he took the mirror from her, and raised it up to stare at his own reflection. "I would like to see my parents, please." 

There was a flash as the magic mirror burst to life. There it showed him Cor dragging himself through the snow, skin looking almost as pale as the surroundings, and lips tinged with blue. The mirror shifted, depictingHorus in what looked to be hysterics. He looked exhausted, but was shouting at someone Ignis couldn’t see. 

Ignis watched in shock and horror. "Is this real? What this mirror shows me, is this all real?" 

Aranea nodded, a feeling of dread washing over her. "Yes." 

"Something must have happened-I don't understand-" 

Aranea glanced at the rose. 

Three petals remained. 

She took a deep breath. "You-" she felt her voice catch in her throat. "You should go to them." 

"What?" 

"You're free to leave." Aranea said. "The deal is off." 

"You mean… I'm free?" Ignis asked in amazement. 

"Yes." 

Ignis seemed stunned for a moment. "Thank you." He turned to leave, pausing in his tracks to turn back to Aranea, holding out the magic mirror toward her. 

Aranea shook her head. "Take it with you. So you'll always be able to look back. And remember me." 

"I could never forget you Aranea." Ignis reached up, touching his hand to her cheek. "Thank you for understanding." 

Ignis drew his hand back, and rushed out of the room. 

Prompto entered the room not long after, a bright cheery look about him. 

"Well, looks like everything's goin' well huh?" Prompto said. "I knew you had it in you!" 

"I let him go." 

" _ I  _ told you everything would be-" Prompto paused. "You-you what?" 

"I let him go." Aranea repeated. She clenched her fists, sharp claws digging into her palms. "I had to." 

"Why?" 

"Because I love him." 

\--- 

_ "She what?"  _

_ "It's true."  _

_ "He's gone?"  _

_ "She was so close."  _

_ "After all this time. She's finally learned to love."  _

_ "So that's it right? The spell should work."  _

_ "It isn't enough." Lunafreya said, shaking her head. "He has to love her in return."  _

_ "Now it's too late."  _

_ Talcott quietly slipped away from his hiding spot nearby, he couldn't let Ignis leave!  _

_ Not now! Everyone was so upset.  _

_ Talcott was determined to do something to help.  _


	7. Chapter 7

Ignis raced through the forest, urging Verdant to run faster. The snow was coming down heavier than before, the temperature dropping by the second. If what Ignis saw was true, then Cor wouldn't last much longer out here. He eventually found him, collapsed a few minutes outside of the village. It had been a bit of a struggle to get him up onto Verdant's saddle by himself, but he managed nonetheless, urging Verdant through the snow. 

" _ Father!"  _ Ignis called out once they were outside his home. He jumped down from Verdant's saddle, attempting to lift Cor down as carefully as he could. "Father!" 

Horus threw open the door. "Ignis!" 

He looked even worse than what the mirror had shown, there were dark circles beneath his eyes, his hair sticking up even more than usual. He rushed over, almost tripping over himself. "Ignis! You're safe-where have you been and-" 

His breath hitched in his throat as he laid eyes on Cor's unconscious form. "Cor- you found him, what happened?" 

"I'll explain everything father, I promise." Ignis said. 

\---

"Ig- _ nis?"  _

Ignis leapt out of his chair, crouching down beside Cor's beside. "It's all right dad, I'm here." 

The corner of Cor's mouth lifted into a smile. "I thought we would never see you again." 

Ignis reached out, squeezing Cor's hand. "I missed you too." 

"But the daemon-" Cor asked. "How did you escape?" 

"I didn't escape. She let me go-" Ignis began. 

"So it's true then?" Horus said from the other side of the room. "You really were kidnapped by a daemon?" 

"Yes, I mean no- she's different. She's kind-" Ignis argued. "She did it to protect her friends. She really meant no harm." 

Horus gestured toward Ignis. "And… your clothes?" 

Ignis glanced down, he was still wearing the formal attire promoto had lent him. "We were dancing." 

"Dancing." Cor repeated. "You were dancing with a daemon." 

"Were they at least attractive?" Horus asked. 

"Horus!" Cor scolded. 

"It's a genuine question darling." Horue said. "Well Ignis?" 

Ignis thought of Aranea, his mind drifting. "Her eyes shine like seaglass on a summer's day, her hair like fresh snow glowing under moonlight. She's strong yet gentle, graceful and swift. Her tongue is as sharp as her wit, and her unwavering loyalty is simply astounding." 

Horus let out a soft gasp, a grin tugging at his lips. "Ignis, it almost sounds as though you're in love with her." 

"I-I am? No-no thats- I can't be-" 

"Ignis. You don't talk about someone in that way and not be in love with them." 

Ignis felt his chest tighten, heart beating loud in chest as he thought at her. " _ Oh.  _ I'm… in love with her?" 

There was a sharp gasp from outside of the bedroom window. " _ I knew it!"  _

Ignis shoved his chair back. "Talcott?!" 

Talcott's face popped up in the window. "Hi Mister Ignis!" 

Ignis rushed over, helping Talcott to climb in through the window, once he was inside, Ignis knelt down, gently cupping Talcott's face in his hands. "Talcott, what are you doing here?" 

"I came to find you!" Talcott said. "You went away! Does that mean you don't like us anymore?" 

"Oh, Talcott, of course I do. I just had to return home, my parents needed me." Ignis said, he straightened up, turning back to Horus and Cor. "This is Talcott, he's one of the few that reside in the castle-" 

"Hello-" Horus waved, wide-eyed and in awe. "You really weren't kidding about the daemons were you-" 

"I  _ told  _ you." Cor grumbled. "Did anyone see you?" 

"No! I was super quiet and I stayed in the dark!" Talcott said. "No one saw me! I promise!" 

There was a series of loud, angry knocks at the front door. 

Ignis whipped his head toward it. "Expecting company tonight Father?" 

"No. No not at all." Horus shook his head. "I'll go see who it is." 

"I'll come with you." Ignis said, he turned to Talcott, holding out his hand to lead the boy into the study. "Stay here and stay out of sight alright?" 

Talcott nodded, he crouched down, hiding beneath the desk. 

Ignis swiftly left, closing the door behind him before he made his way over to the front door, his father behind him. 

Horus opened the front door. "Chief Uldor? What are you doing here?" 

"Ignis! Look at that, you're perfectly safe at home. Seems as though Cor was crazy after all." 

"Beg your pardon? What  _ are  _ you talking about?" 

"Your old man ran into the village, came barging into the tavern, raving like a lunatic that you had been kidnapped by daemons. I played along, thinking it would help Cor, only for him to run off into the forest with no way for me to stop him." Uldor said. "We're here to help Horus and relieve him of his duties. He must be absolutely exhausted." 

Ignis eyed the crowd before him. "And them?" He gestured to the crowd. "What are they here for?" 

"To ensure that Horus hasn't also gone mad with grief." Uldlor said. "He thought he lost you, and now his husband is nowhere to be found." 

Ignis stepped aside as his father came to confront Uldor. "I think you'll find that I am in good health." Horus said, narrowing his eyes. "And my husband is safe at home. No thanks to you." 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Uldor sputtered, temper flaring at being caught out. 

"You left him out there to die." Horus said. "You attacked him, and left him there." 

"Why exactly would I do that? Honestly these accusations are ridiculous." 

"Perhaps you'd like to hear it from Cor himself?" Horus said coolly, he stood back, allowing Cor to pull open the front door. 

"Uldor." Cor, having heard the commotion, walked into sight and crossed his arms over his broad chest; staring down his nose at the Chief. 

"Cor. You're… alive, oh thank the Heavens I thought something had happened to you after you had run off into the forest." Uldor sneered. "Tell me, did you manage to find your daemon? Or did you realise that it was all just in your head." 

Cor grit his teeth. "I assure you, she was real. I am not making this up." 

The small crowd laughed. 

"There. You have it." Uldor turned to face the crowd. "You can't get much crazier than that. Clearly all this time hunting has messed with our poor Cor's head. Soon he won't be able to tell friend from foe. "I think we should take you somewhere, for yours and everyone else's safety. 

Two men stepped forward, they reached forward and began to drag Cor out of the house toward an unmarked wagon. 

"Unhand him this instant!" Horus ran at them attempting to pry their hands away. 

Two more men appeared on either side of Horus and started to pull him along.

"You can't do this!" Ignis yelled, he attempted to shove past Uldor to get to them, but was yanked back by Uldor taking firm hold of his upper arm. " _ Unhand me!"  _

"Poor Ignis." Uldor tutted, squeezing Ignis's arm. "It's a shame about your parents. They had so much potential, and now look at them. Both gone completely mad." 

"Uldor, cease this madness-" Ignis pried at Uldor's hand. "Why are you doing this?" 

"I suppose I  _ may  _ be able to clear up this little misunderstanding," Uldor said. "If…"

"If what?" 

Uldor smiled, it sent a shiver down Ignis's spine. He reached out with his free hand, gripping onto Ignis's chin, and tilted his head back. 

"If you marry me and hand over mayorship over the town to me." 

" _ Never."  _ Ignis pulled as far away from Uldor as he could in disgust, now he finally understood all the attentions Uldor had tried to bestow on him. 

_ " _ Fine. Have it your way then." He hissed. "Take them away." 

"No!" Ignis could only watch in horror as Horus and Cor were being dragged away. 

A sudden thought came to him. Ignis wrenched his arm away, and ran back into the house, retrieved the magic mirror from his bag and ran back out. "They aren't crazy and I can prove it." He held the magic mirror close to his face. "Show me Aranea." 

Ignis held up the mirror, it shone with a bright light, before the surface rippled, showing Aranea's distraught face.

"Is it dangerous?" Someone from the crowd called out. 

"No-no she wouldn't hurt anyone." Ignis tried to reassure. "Please, I know she looks frightening, but she's kind and gentle. She's my friend." 

Uldor scoffed, he reached for the magic mirror, attempting to pry it from Ignis's hands. "If i didn't know any better, I'd think you had feelings for the monster." 

"She's no monster, Uldor.  _ You are!"  _ Ignis hissed. 

A dark look washed over Uldor's face. "He's as crazy as the rest of them!" He snatched the mirror from Ignis. "The daemon will make off with your children! Eat them in the dead of night!" 

"No!" Ignis reached out for the mirror but was held back by the crowd. Uldor walked down the path of Ignis’ home and towards a waiting wagon. It was holding lit torches on it’s sides to light the path as it drove out of town. 

"We aren't safe until that beast's head is mounted on my wall! I say we kill the daemon!" A mother screamed. 

The townsfolk cheered and Ignis's heart sank. 

"We're not safe until she's dead!" Another called out.

"She'll come stalking us in the night!" Cheers called back as more of the townspeople voiced their opinions. 

"She'll sacrifice our children for her monstrous appetite." 

"She'll wreck havoc on our village if we let her wander free.'

"It is time to take action." Uldor raised a torch into the sky. "It is time to follow  _ me  _ into battle. We'll be rid of this daemon by sunrise." 

He stalked back towards the crowd, waving a torch he took from the side of the wagon, as a scare tactic. "She's a monster. Sharp claws and fangs that will tear you to shreds in an instant." He handed the torch to someone, and lifted the mirror, showing off Aranea's sullen face. "See how she looks! The evil in her eyes! She won't stop until we're all good and dead!" 

"No!" Ignis shoved through the crowd, cutting Uldor off. He grabbed onto his hand, trying to pry the mirror from him. "I won't let you do this. She hasn't harmed anyone." 

Uldor grabbed onto the front of Ignis's shirt, untucking it and his tie from his waistcoat, he pulled Ignis close and sneered under breath. "You can't stop me." He leant back, and yelled to the crowd. "Look! Our dear Ignis is under a wicked spell!" He tucked the mirror away, and took hold of Ignis's chin, turning it this way and that. "He's defending the beast! We must save him." He shoved Ignis into the arms of two of his followers, they held tightly onto Ignis's upper arms, digging their fingers into him. 

"Keep him locked away. He'll only try to warn the creature." 

"No! No let me go!" Ignis yelled as he was dragged over to the outer basement attached to their house. 

His parents had already been thrown in, Ignis stumbled as he was shoved in, his glasses flying from his face. "No!" 

The doors slammed down above them, it sounded like something heavy was dragged onto it, sealing them in. 

"Let us out!" Ignis banged on the doors. "Let me out!" 

Outside, Uldor led the mob toward the edge of town, straight into the forest. Horus pulled Ignis to him, running a hand through his hair as Ignis sobbed into his arms. 

"It's all my fault." Ignis heaved. "They're going to kill her- it's all my fault." 

" _ Shh."  _ Horus consoled him. "We'll think of something." 


	8. Chapter 8

"It was foolish of us to get our hopes up." Ravus announced. "We should have known that the boy wouldn't have been the one." 

"You cannot blame us for having hope, brother." Lunafreya said. "Ignis seemed different." 

"Maybe it would have been better if he never came here at all." Noctis sighed. "Anyone heard from Aranea?" 

"No. She's locked herself in her room. She refuses to speak with anyone." 

Noctis's arm was bent awkwardly, clawed and curled in. Gladio's horns had grown in size, his demeanor more frightening. The curse was beginning to take further hold, their transformations becoming more complete. Libertus and Nyx burst through the parlor doors, they were frazzled, chests heaving. 

"We've got a problem." Libertus gasped. 

"We got company." Nyx pointed at the window. "We need to barricade the doors.  _ Now."  _

They rushed over to the window. They could hear the shouts and cries of a large crowd approaching, and flickering lights headed toward them. 

"Gladio! Go warn Aranea!" Prompto ordered. "The rest of you, come help me barricade the doors then take cover!" 

Iris ran in. "W-wait! Talcott's missing! I can't find him anywhere!" 

" _ Shit."  _ Crowe cursed. "I'll help you look for him." 

"As will I." Lunafreya said. 

"Great, now everyone  _ move _ !" 

\--- 

Gladio banged on Aranea’s door. "Hey! Hey Aranea open up!" 

"Leave me alone!" 

"Aranea the castle is under attack. We need to do something." Gladio banged on the door again, almost falling forward as it opened wide. 

Stands of Aranea's hair had been pulled from her bun, messy and unkempt. She was still in her ballgown. 

"Get yourself and the others someplace safe." Aranea said. "Barricade yourself in. Stay quiet, stay hidden." She paused. "Keep them safe." 

She started to close the door again, Gladio stuck his foot out before she could, forcing the door back open. 

"What about you?" Gladio said. "Come with us." 

"No. There's something I have to do." 

Gladio's expression softened. " _ Aranea."  _

"Goodbye Gladio. Take care of the others." 

\--- 

The lights had been turned off, as many windows and entrances sealed as they could. They were huddled together in one room, the mob almost to the front door. 

"What do we do?" Noctis whispered. "We can't fight back right?" 

"Better to be safe than sorry." Nyx said. 

They'd taken out their weapons from the training room, and locked the doors behind them. 

"It's just a precaution." 

"The fighting will be inevitable." Ravus said. "At the end of the day, we are daemons. They are human. One will end up killing the other." 

"I think I have a better idea." Prompto said. "One that avoids fighting. Let's scare them instead, it'll drive them away." 

The others grinned at him. "What do you have in mind?'

"Follow my lead." 

\--- 

The doors to the castle opened slowly, Uldor glanced around cautiously, it was pitch black inside, dead leaves and cobwebs were scattered throughout. 

"Are you quite sure this is the right place?" Loqi murmured. "There is no one here." 

"I don't see any other Castle's around here, do you?" Uldor snapped at him. 

To their left, the sound of sharp nails being dragged along the wall (Prompto hidden in the shadows) above them, the chandelier started to swing and creak (Noctis) 

The parlour room to their right hand had it’s doors wide open, a roaring fire crackling loudly. From the warped shadows came a set of raspy groans and hisses. 

Uldor glanced around the room, squinting at the warping shadows. "Take care of this Loqi. I will find the daemon." 

Uldor backed out of the room, making his way to the grand staircase, when he was suddenly alerted to pattering footsteps. 

He ripped a torch out of someone's hands, and waved it in the direction of the footsteps. "There is nothing there." Uldor said. “Clearly the daemon's magic is playing tricks on us. Let us move on." 

The mob split into several smaller groups, Uldor taking the lead as he made his way to the grand staircase. From the shadows, Iris, having caught on to the other's plan, stuck her foot out, tripping up one of the other townsfolk. They fell to the floor, the others immediately lifting their torches, shining them right into Iris's face. 

"Uh oh." she squeaked. 

Noctis jumped down from the chandelier, causing enough of a distraction for Iris to retreat. 

"It's an ambush!" Uldor yelled. "Get them!" 

The castle exploded into chaos, the townsfolk waving pitchforks and spears at them, driving them back. Amidst the chaos, Uldor slipped up the grand staircase, Noctis watched in horror as the man pulled the mirror from his cloak, and ran for the direction of the West Wing. 

\--- 

Talcott frantically searched for the keys to the basement - he'd been sure that the coast was clear before he left the house. 

" _ I can't find them _ !" Talcott knelt in the dirt, whispering at Ignis through the tiny window they'd managed to smash open. "I'm sorry!" 

"There's nothing to apologise for Talcott." Ignis said. "They might have taken them." 

"I'm gonna go look inside, there might be something that could help!" Talcott said. 

"Be careful." 

Talcott nodded, he jumped up to his feet, and quickly ran back into the house. He let out a frustrated sigh, searching through the house once more, and found himself in the study again. He looked around the room. 

_ There _ . 

Talcott gasped, how could he not have seen that before?!Above the fireplace was an axe hanging on the wall. Talcott rose up on tiptoes to reach the axe, his fingertips brushing the handle. Talcott pulled the chair from behind the desk, doing his best to drag it toward the fireplace. Once it was in the right place, Talcott climbed up, and lifted the axe from the wall. It was heavy, and he wobbled slightly at the new weight. Grinning, Talcott carefully climbed down from the chair, and rushed out of the house. 

"I got it! I got it!" 

"Talcott?" Ignis called out. "What did you get?" 

"I got an axe!" 

"I'm sorry you have a  _ what _ ?!" 

Horus was peaking through a crack in the doors. "Perhaps we should stand back." He said, pulling Cor and Ignis to the far corner. 

"Should we not be concerned that there is a child with an axe?" Cor asked. 

"We should." Ignis said. "And yet, here we are. Letting a child wield an axe to let us out." 

"Okay!!" Talcott called out. "Here I go!!" 

The axe crashed down into the basement doors, cutting through the wood. It was lifted again, this time, they heard the clank of metal, and the basement doors opened. 

Talcott waved down at them. "Hi." 

Ignis climbed out immediately, he took the axe from Talcott before lifting the boy in a hug. "That was incredibly brave of you Talcott." 

Horus reappeared, gently tugging Verdant's reins. "Here." He said handing them over to Ignis. "It seems you're in need elsewhere." 

Ignis set Talcott onto Verdant's back. "Thank you- both of you for understanding. I only hope I can make it in time." 

"You will." Cor said, watching as Ignis clambered up onto Verdant's saddle. "Be careful. We'll be right behind you." 

Ignis nodded, he lent forward, making sure Talcott was secure, before flicking Verdant's reins, urging them into the forest. 

\--- 

Uldor slowly pushed open the door at the end of the darkened hallway. This was to be the daemon's lair then. 

"Come out and face me daemon." 

Aranea stood in front of the window and drew to her full height, her wings extended, blocking what little light there had been in her room. She'd moved the rose to the far corner, and had hidden it from view, at least it would be safe for now. 

Her lips drew back into a snarl. "Leave." She said. "While you still have the chance." 

"I think not." Uldor said, pointing a crossbow at her. "I came here with a single goal, and I intend to see it through." 

Aranea lunged forward, just as Uldor released a bolt, striking her shoulder, Aranea staggered slightly, and attempted to regain her footing before Uldor rushed her, and sent them both flying out the window onto the roof. 


	9. Chapter 9

Ignis jumped off of Verdant, the rain had begun to melt the snow, it turned into slush beneath Ignis's feet. He helped Talcott down, ushering them toward the small stable attached outside. 

"Stay here." He turned and rushed off before Talcott could so much as take a breath to argue. Ignis ran up the steps, running through doors and straight into the foyer where a fight had broken out. The villagers were blatantly attacking his friends, waving brightly lit torches at them, and brandishing iron weapons. He ripped a torch from one's hand, and threw it out into snow. He ducked beneath swinging pitchforks and sharp spears, the path leading up to the West Wing was heavily blocked. Ignis took a breath, ready to make a run for it, when he felt someone pull on the back of his shirt. Ignis tried to twist out of their hold, throwing his weight back. 

"Specs! Chill out it's just me." Noctis's voice murmured from behind him. 

"Noct?!" 

"Follow me." Noctis pulled Ignis into the parlour, and hid from view. "You're here for Aranea?" 

"Yes " Ignis nodded. "Where is she?" 

"In her room - someone went after her but - I couldn't get to her." Noctis pulled Ignis back again before he could leave. "Hang on, it's a mess out there-" 

"I have to get to her." 

"I know but there's too much fighting going on. You'll get caught in it." Noctis poked his head out, and waved at someone Ignis couldn't see. "I'll clear a path for you. Stay behind me. 

"Understood." Ignis said. 

"I got your back too." Prompto said, appearing in the room, rushing to stand behind Ignis. 

"Likewise." Gladio said, joining them too."You can count on us." 

"You would all help me? Why?" 

"You wanna help Aranea. That's good enough for me." Noctis answered. 

"You're a good guy Ignis. Like I said before, I got a good feeling about you." 

"Same here!" Prompto said. "Who knows, maybe we coulda all been friends in another life." 

"And here I thought we were friends." Ignis said with a grin. "I am truly grateful for your support." 

The others smiled at him, quickly returning their attention to the fray as there was a loud crash. 

Gladio moved to stand in front of them, shield covering his body. "Get behind me. We move together." 

Ignis moved behind him, Prompto and Noctis behind him. 

"On my count." Gladio said. "One, two-  _ move!"  _

They moved together as a single unit, doing their best to avoid the fighting around them, although the Castle's inhabitants were doing their best to drive out the mob rather than physically harm them. Gladio had gotten them up the stairs, a small group of the mob chased after them.

"Gladio! Prompto! Get Ignis to Aranea!" Noctis said. "I got these guys-" 

"Noct-" 

" _ Go!"  _ Noctis kicked down one of the suits of armour at the top of the stairs, it went crashing down knocking a few of them off balance. "That's all you got?!" 

Ignis heard Noctis taunt, before Prompto and Gladio ushered him toward the West Wing. 

Prompto stopped, he drew out his firearm. "All you Big Guy! Keep Iggy safe-" 

Ignis turned back to him. "Prompto-" 

"It's okay Igster! Gonna do what I do best! Be loud and annoying!" Prompto grinned, before running back the direction they came. 

Gladio put his hand on Ignis's back. "Come on, let's move." 

They reached the end of the hallway, the doors to Aranea's room wide open. There was the sound of crashing glass down the hallway, light warping and stretching across the walls and angry voices echoed. 

"Shit." Gladio glanced down at it. "Alright, this is all you. Go get her. Be careful." 

"I'll do my best." Ignis ran into Aranea's room, the rose dimly glowing in the darkness. 

The curtains whipped violently side to side in the wind, rain beating down through the broken, open window. Ignis hurried to the balcony, squinting as the rain plastered his hair to his forehead. He spotted Aranea and Uldor on one of the further ends of the castle. 

" _ Aranea!"  _ He yelled, his shouts drowned out by the storm. "Aranea! Drat." Ignis swore as they turned a corner, hidden behind a second of roof. 

Ignis glanced below him, leading straight down was a steep drop to the ground, but to his left, there was a section of the stone wall he could climb down. He swung one of his legs over the railing, and grasped onto the stone wall, slowly making his descent. 

Aranea had stupidly found herself cornered, there was one bolt sticking out of her shoulder, and another embedded into her thigh. But she found herself caring about them less and less as her anger overwhelmed and bubbled within her. She hadn't let Uldor get away so easily though. There were slashes through his clothes, wounda sluggishly bleeding through, and thin scratches along his face. 

His eyes were beady and wild, completely unhinged as he steadied the crossbow at her. "How foolish you are daemon. Were you in love with him? Did you honestly think he'd want you when he had someone like me? Why would he be in love with you? You are nothing but a  _ monster _ ." 

Aranea let out a low growl, she launched at Uldor, he fired the crossbow, landing another hit in her shoulder. Aranea stumbled back, digging her feet and claws into the tiles to avoid slipping. 

"It ends here for you daemon." Uldor said, he was reloading the crossbow, moving slower as the wounds had been agitated, blood flowing more freely. "As soon as I return, I will be taking over as mayor of that damned village, and being rid of Horus and Cor and that damned brat of theirs too." He pointed the crossbow at her. "It's almost a pity Ignis isn't here to witness that pretty face of yours perish. Perhaps you should smile. It would be much less gruesome." 

" _ Get away from her!"  _ Ignis lurched forward, and yanked at Uldors arms, causing the crossbow to miss fire at a nearby spire, breaking off a piece of the roof. 

" _ You!"  _ Uldor hissed. "How did you-" 

"I said, get away from her!" Ignis pulled at Uldor's arms again, suddenly wishing he had remembered to collect some sort of weapon on his way. 

Uldor grasped the back of Ignis's hair, yanking it back. "You are nothing but a thorn in my side. I will deal with you later." 

He shoved him down harshly, Ignis's head bounced as it hit the tiles. He slipped down the roof, scrambling for purchase as he tried to sit up. 

Uldor turned back to Aranea. "You first-" he made to reload the crossbow once more, but was suddenly flailing back - Ignis grabbed onto Uldor's ankle, and tugged with all his might. Uldor slipped, sliding away from them, but not before he in turn grabbed onto Ignis's arm dragging along. Before they both could go over the edge, Ignis felt something snag on the back of his jacket. He turned his head to look up, Aranea had caught him and was slowly pulling Ignis back up to her. Uldor had lost his grip on Ignis but he hadn’t fallen far; he was out of sight and out of mind for the moment. 

"What the Hell are you doing here?!" Aranea asked, cupping his face in her hands. 

Ignis felt himself smiling at her. "There's something I have to tell you-" 

"Wait- not here." Despite his brief protests, Aranea scooped Ignis into her arms, and flew to one of the nearby balconies, which just so happened to be attached to the ballroom they'd been in earlier. 

"Why did you come back?" She asked, setting him down, his back facing the direction they'd come from. 

"I came back because-" Ignis paused. "Because there's something I have to tell you. Aranea I'm in lo-" 

" _ Look out!"  _ Aranea shoved him aside as a crossbow bolt flew at him, taking the hit instead.

She screamed out in pain, staggered back. Ignis sat up, watching in horror as another bolt pierced her stomach. He turned in the direction the bolt had come from to see Uldo, crazed loading one of the last bolts he had, he meant to take Aranea down and he wouldn't stop until he did. 

" _ No!"  _

Rage and anger bubbled up in Ignis's stomach, he scrambled to his feet, fingers curling around a loose piece of stone. Ignis drew his arm back as Uldor readied the crossbow once more. He flung his arm forward, the stone sailed out from his hand, hitting Uldor in the head. 

Uldor dropped the crossbow, staggering back as blood pooled down his face. His foot slipped, the rest of him following suit. Ignis ignored his anguished screams, attention solely on Aranea as she collapsed in a heap. Ignis gently turned her over, resting her head into his lap, his hands hovering over her own which were pressing down onto the wound. 

He heard the rushed patter of multiple footsteps from behind him, but he daren't turn around. 

"You came back." 

"Of course I did, I couldn't let them-" Ignis said, voice hitching in his throat. "This is all my fault. If I had been here sooner-" 

"No. It's better this way. I won't be able to hurt you when the transformation takes over." Aranea said. "You should go. It won't be safe for you once the last petals fall."

"Don't talk like that. You're going to be alright." Ignis felt his eyes watering. "We're together, I'm here. Everything's going to be fine, you'll see." 

"You need to go." Aranea argued. "It's not safe." 

"No. I will not leave you again." 

"You're really stubborn, you know that?" 

Ignis choked out a laugh. "So I've been told." 

Aranea lifted one of her hands, cradling Ignis's cheek. "I'm glad...I got to see you… one last time." 

She breathed out, chest stilling, her eyes closed and her hand limply fell from Ignis's face. 

There were hushed whispers and muffled sobs coming from behind him, and then : 

" _ The rose! The last petal-its gone."  _

"Aranea-" Ignis gently shook her shoulder, tears streaming down his face. "Aranea, please wake up-" 

Behind him, Ignis could hear the pained cries of the others behind him, the sounds of their flesh tearing and bones contorting as the transformation took full force. 

" _ Aranea!  _ Aranea please, please don't leave me." Ignis sobbed into her chest. "Please don't leave me! I love you!" 

The rain continued to pour down around them. 

There were harsh snarls and low growls from behind him. He felt claws snag at his clothes, brushing his hair. 

Suddenly, a single beam of light pierced through the clouds, falling like a shooting star. Then, another. And another, and another. Ignis finally glanced up, shuffling back toward as the light surrounded Aranea. Aranea was lifted up into the air and she was enveloped into a soft cloud of light. 

Ignis could just about make out her clawed hands , shining with bright light before they turned into fingers, her tail twisted around her leg, before it too shone with bright light and disappeared, the crossbow bolt dissolving in a fit of sparks. A wind blew across her face, hair covering her face, her wings came up to envelope her, concealing her from view. Aranea slowly began to descend, and lay back onto the floor, facing away from Ignis. Ignis crawled forward, slowly reaching out for her. 

She stirred, slowly sitting up. She rubbed at her eyes, and turned to look at Ignis, a look of confusion on her face. "What's that look for?" 

"You- you're human?" his voice was ragged and he had to force himself to speak. 

Aranea glanced down at her hands, turning them over and over in disbelief, she laughed. "You did it!" Her hands flew to her hair, patting around as she felt for her horns, and glanced over her shoulder to look at where her wings and tail had been. 

Ignis leant forward, gently placing one of his hands on her cheek. "The curse is truly gone?" 

Aranea put her own hand over Ignis's. "All thanks to you." 

She grabbed onto his shirt with her free hand and pulled him into a kiss. Around them, the gloom surrounding the castle disappeared, dark clouds dispersing to reveal a blue sky. The broken cobblestones and smashed windows repaired themselves as the light touched down. Whoops and cheers drew Ignis back from Aranea, and he was suddenly tackled by two solid weights. 

"Iggy you did it!" Blond hair, blue eyes and a freckled face filled vision. "I knew you were the one!" 

"Lay off Prompto, I wanna make sure Specs gets a hug from me too." Noctis quietly added. 

Ignis chuckled, gently ruffling both of their hair. "I'm not sure  _ what  _ it was I did in all honesty. But, I am glad I could help." 

"Alright you two back off." 

Noctis and Prompto were lifted off of him, and he was yanked to his feet by Gladio. "I don't usually do this Ignis, but I'm going to give you a hug-" 

"Now Gladio really there's no need- _ ack _ " 

Gladio lifted Ignis up in a crushing hug, squeezing him. "You really saved us!" 

"Gladdy! Let go! Ignis can't breathe behemoth head!" Iris laughed at him. 

Gladio set Ignis back down, and stepped back. "Knew I had a good feeling about you." 

"Glad I could be of service, though what I did I'm still unsure." Ignis said, out of the corner of his eye he watched Noctis lift Luna and spin her about before drawing her in for a tight hug. 

"You broke the curse by falling in love with me." Aranea said. 

Ignis turned back to her, and extended his hands to help her up, Aranea took his hands and got to her feet. She was shorter than she had been as a daemon.  _ Considerably  _ shorter, the top of her head coming to about his chin. Ignis couldn't help but let out a snicker, especially considering that her daemon self towered above him. 

"Is that funny to you?" She asked. 

"Now now, dear." Ignis aaid with a wink. "No need to get  _ short _ with me." 

"Did you just make a short joke at me?" 

"Hm?" Ignis shook his head. "Nothing of the short- _ sort _ . Do forgive me dear. You were telling me about the curse?" 

Aranea glared at him briefly. "The curse was broken, once you said that you loved me." 

Ignis leant in, and cupped her face with a hand, gently using his thumb to stroke her cheek. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" 

"I didn't want you to run away." Aranea said. "You were different. I actually liked you." She rose up on her tip-toes, and flicked a stray strand of his hair aside. "I just wanted you to come to that conclusion on your own." 

There were sudden voices, loud and echoing from the ballroom. 

"Uh oh." Prompto turned toward the sound. "Trouble?" 

"Maybe. Stay alert." 

"Ignis!? Ignis where are you?" 

"Mister Ignis! Where are you?" 

"Talcott!" Iris rushed into the ballroom, calling after the boy. "Over here!" 

The others followed behind, Ignis watched as a now human Talcott ran at the group at full speed - to be lifted and tossed in the air by Gladio. 

Two more faces popped into the ballroom, rushing into the centre. 

"Father, Dad-" Ignis grinned, he took hold of Aranea's hands, and started to pull her along. "Come, you must meet my parents,  _ properly _ -" 

"Ignis no I can't-" Aranea began. "I don't think it's a good idea-" 

"Nonsense! Father will love you." Ignis said, dragging her into the ballroom. 

He let go of her hands, and was drawn into yet another tight hug by his parents. 

"Are you hurt? Is anyone hurt? What happened?" Horus fussed, checking over Ignis's face and clothes. 

"Im fine Father. No one got hurt, and the curse was lifted." Ignis turned to Aranea, and held out his hand to her. "This is Aranea." 

In a strange show of character, Aranea shyly stepped forward, avoiding their gazes. 

"So." Horus said with a twinkle in his eye. "You're the one who has captured the heart of my dear little Ignis." 

Aranea immediately looked up. 

Oh no. Ignis thought. Perhaps this was a mistake. 

"I guess I did." Aranea said, squeezing Ignis's hand. "Though I'm not sure I know why he fell for me." 

Horus laughed. "Ignis told us about you, I'd be more than happy to tell you. Oh! And I have a photo of a baby Ignis in my pocket, would you like to see?" 

"Father!" This had definitely been a mistake Ignis thought. 

"Now Horus, no need to tease the poor boy." Cor said, laughing as Ignis turned pink in the face as his father showed Aranea a baby photograph. 

"I'm sorry." Aranea said to Cor suddenly. "For locking you away in the dungeon." 

Cor shook his head. "You were trying to protect your friends. I understand. I likely would have done the same. Perhaps it's best if we start over." 

Aranea nodded. "That works for me too." She said, leaning into Ignis's side. 

Ignis smiled at her, and lifted their joined hands to place a kiss across her knuckles. 

"So? When's the wedding?" 

" _ Father!"  _

\--- 

The wedding as it turned out to be, was a month later. 

There were a few of the townsfolk there, dotted about here and there making small talk with the others present. Takka hovered by the food table, the children from the orphanage were playing a game of tag with Talcott. 

As it turned out, Noctis, Lunafreya and Ravus were all royalty themselves, hailing from the kingdom of Insomnia (which turned out to be entirely real, Ignis felt like a bit of a fool) and Tenebrae. Their parents along with several members of their personal guard had attended the festivities. It pleased Ignis greatly to see Dad and Gladio talking with one another, they'd gotten along fairly well with each other - Gladio's father was also present in the conversation. 

Father on the other hand, had zeroed in on Nyx, Libertus and Crowe in an intense discussion, but that all soon ceased as Ignis and Aranea stepped into the centre of the ballroom. 

Ignis was dressed in gold fitted trousers tucked into knee high white boots. His outer jacket and waistcoat, also gold, was intricately detailed with swirling white and pearl embroidery. White lace cuffs poked out from his outer jacket sleeves, and a silken golden ascot tie held in place by a white skull pin, hands clad in white gloves. 

A single Sylleblossom was pinned to his lapel. 

"I stepped on your foot." Aranea whispered as the music played. 

Ignis had thought she looked more stunning than ever. 

Aranea's dress, also gold, hugged her figure, gathering at her feet to create a train. Silvery-white gems had been carefully placed along each seam and fold of the dress. It dipped into a sweetheart neckline, but also secured by two wide straps over her shoulders. Her hair was pinned back, loose silver curls framed her face, and her braid was adorned by Sylleblossoms. 

"It's alright. Nothing you haven't done before." Ignis chuckled. "Although it does seem that daemon you had a bit more coordination." 

"Considering I was a lot taller, I'd like to think I did." 

"Oh, that reminds me." Ignis said. "Tell me, what is the weather like down there? Are you comfortable?" 

"Watch it Specs." Aranea teased. "I'm still tall enough to kick your ass." 

"If you're going to pick a fight-" Ignis began, he spun them around, placing his hand low on Aranea's back and dipped her. "You should try picking on someone your own size. Might I suggest a toothpick?" He murmured. 

"You're the worst." Aranea huffed. "And here I was, going to invite you on an adventure to explore the outside. By all means, you're welcome to stay here and read about them instead." 

Ignis laughed, and spun them again, their outfits shimmering beneath the chandelier. "As long as I'm with you, it'll be the greatest adventure of all." 

_ Fin _


End file.
